Case Study: Sable

Walk down any street in Kuwait City, and you will probably come across one of Sable’s many stores. Its ubiquitous presence throughout Kuwait has made it one of the country’s favorite dessert stores. 

Yet, Sable doesn’t take its place in the market for granted and always plans for the future. And, it was confident that the future lay in direct online ordering. 

So, Sable partnered with Zyda.

A couple of years into the partnership, Sable’s decision paid off. Direct online ordering became more and more popular, and the Zyda site kept getting more and more orders. Eventually, Sable reached a point where its Zyda site was processing 4 out of every 10 online orders.

And, this is not to mention how the tools provided by the Zyda site helped Sable further. An excellent case in point is Zyda’s CRM feature.

Problem

When it comes to desserts, Sable is one of the biggest names in Kuwait. It has multiple stores and locations covering different parts of the country, making it a staple of Kuwaiti life.

Also, its products are varied enough to suit different occasions. For example, if you’re looking for a cake to celebrate your best friend’s birthday, you can order a cake and have your friend’s picture plastered onto it. On the other hand, if you want something with less sugar in it, you can order sandwiches from Sable’s savory menu.

Given the success of its physical stores, Sable wanted to expand into the digital world. But, the dessert shop needed to choose the right partner.

Solution

Sable created two sites: one for branding and the other for direct ordering. It believed that people in Kuwait would eventually get around to direct online ordering and wanted to be ahead of the curve. 

With this in mind, Sable partnered with Zyda. It took this step before it had even partnered with any intermediary. 

So, why Zyda?

Sable saw Zyda as one of the first available providers of online ordering platforms in Kuwait, so it felt that this age and experience would be a big plus.

“Zyda is one of the oldest companies in this space, which is why we started with them.” Hany Ahmed, head of IT at UFIG

Sable also planned to market its Zyda site. So, it leveraged its Instagram profile, which has a substantial following in its own right. 

Additionally, Sable linked its Zyda site with its branding site. If you go to https://www.sablesweets.com/en/stores?goforstore=2, you will find a large button that says “Order Now.” That button will take you to the Zyda site.

In the beginning, things were slow to pick off. But, as people in Kuwait started warming more and more towards the idea of direct online ordering, Sable’s sales on Zyda increased accordingly. And, it just kept improving over time.

Today, Sable feels that its Zyda site is integral to its business:

Zyda is their primary online ordering channel for preorders. (Preorders are orders made today but collected at a later day. This is in contrast to regular direct orders, which are made and collected on the same day.) 

1. Also, Zyda processes around 40% of Sable’s online orders. Alternatively, intermediaries, such as Talabat, process the remaining 60%.

Sable also does its best to give its customers the best online experience possible. And, it shows. Returning customers are responsible for more than half of the orders reaching Sable’s Zyda site.

And, seeing as it invests in customer retention, Sable has leveraged Zyda’s CRM feature to reward its loyal customers and to reach out to those who need more attention. 

When it comes to rewarding loyal customers, Sable identifies its champions and gives them a complimentary item as a way of saying thank you. These loyal customers are so grateful that they post about it on Instagram, providing Sable with a little free marketing in return. 

On the other hand, once Sable identifies a customer as needing attention, the marketing team reaches out to them with a discount to lure them back in.  

“The CRM tool is very beneficial for us.” Deemy Mubarak, head of marketing at UFIG

In addition to all of this, Sable’s Zyda site has been such a success that Sable’s parent company, the United Food Industries Group, or UFIG for short, partnered with Zyda again to create online ordering platforms for its other brands, including Al Deek Al Roomi.