The Client

Damiano S.p.A. is a Sicilian leader in the organic sector, a family-run business that has been a benchmark in the production and distribution of organic dried fruit and 100% natural spreads since 1964. Headquartered in Torrenova (Messina), Damiano Organic embodies the values ​​of Sicilian tradition combined with an innovative and sustainable vision.

A Certified and Recognized Brand

Damiano Organic is not just a brand, but a symbol of quality and sustainability:

• B-Corp since 2016 : One of the 7,000 companies in the world with B-Corp certification, awarded the "Best for the World in Environment" recognition for four consecutive years.
• Quality Certifications : EU Bio, Gluten Free, Vegan, Fairtrade, Halal, Kosher, BRC, IFS
• Recognized Excellence : Over 3,460 reviews with a 4.83/5 rating on Trusted Shops

The Challenge

In 2023, Damiano Organic faced a crucial challenge: their e-commerce site was running on an existing Shopify platform with a headless stack (Strapi) and an outdated configuration that no longer reflected the brand's evolution and growth ambitions. The platform featured:

Technical Issues

• Inefficient Language Architecture : Main language configured in French instead of Italian, creating confusion in content management
• Complex Translation Management : Meta descriptions and content translated via metafields, complicating multilingual management
• CMS Limitations : Outdated and non-customizable frontend with visual editor that did not support the modern features required by the brand
• Suboptimal User Experience : UI/UX not aligned with contemporary premium e-commerce standards
• Facebook/Instagram Catalog : Catalog Sync Issues for International Marketing Campaigns

Business Needs

• International Expansion : Need to effectively manage the Italian, French and other future markets with differentiated catalogues
• Premium User Experience : The brand positioning required a shopping experience that matched the quality of the products
• Scalability : Ever-growing catalog that required a more flexible structure
• Marketing Automation : Advanced integration with marketing and customer service tools

The Solution: A Strategic Approach

Hoculus designed and implemented a two-phase solution:

1. "ReSetup" : Complete reconstruction of the e-commerce foundation
2. AMS, Evolutive and CRO : Continuous evolution and optimizations

Phase 1: Complete Reset

1.1 Audit and Strategic Planning

Before any technical intervention, we conducted a complete audit of the existing platform :

• Product and collection architecture analysis
• Review of linguistic configurations and markets
• Mapping existing integrations
• Competitive benchmark

Audit Output:

• Technical document with analysis
• Detailed roadmap of interventions
• Identifying quick wins and critical priorities

1.2 Theme Search and Setup

Objective : Identify a thematic basis appropriate to the desired end result, keeping the visual identity of damianorganic.it as a reference.

Activities Implemented:

1. Comparative Analysis of Themes

   • 15+ Premium Shopify Themes Reviews
   • Native functionality vs. required customizations comparison
   • Performance analysis and mobile optimization

2. Basic Theme Setup

   • Installing selected theme
   • Brand color palette configuration (natural green, warm tones)
   • Typographic settings and branding
   • Complete Homepage Setup with Customized Sections
   • Configuring the collection page and product catalog
   • Product Page Template Setup
   • Implementation of multi-level navigation structure
   • Blog Page Setup (Recipes)
   • Cart setup, customer account, search

Result : Solid foundation ready for advanced customizations, meeting the project deadline.

1.3 Advanced UI/UX Customization

With advanced store code customization, we've transformed the base theme into a tailored premium experience:

Custom Components Developed:

1. Tabbed Content Section

   • Tabbed navigation system to organize product information
   • Support for images, text and rich media content
   • Responsive design optimized for mobile

2. Visual Timeline

   • Component to tell the brand's story
   • Smooth on-scroll animations
   • Multi-breakpoint responsive adaptation

3. Custom Info Key Bar Sections

   • Dynamic information banners
   • Priority management and conditional visibility
   • Announcement bar integration

4. Custom Product Cards

   • Layout optimized for product line displays
   • Quick view and sophisticated hover effects
   • Badges for certifications and product features

5. Bestseller and Recommendations Sections

   • Popular Product Display Algorithms
   • Intelligent cross-selling
   • Personalization based on user behavior

Frontend Optimizations:

• Custom CSS to ensure total visual consistency
• Vanilla JavaScript for smooth interactions
• Advanced lazy loading of images
• Hardware-accelerated CSS3 animations
• Micro-interactions to improve engagement

1.4 Strategic Integrations

Iubenda - Compliance and Privacy

• Cookie banner code integration
• Multilingual support (IT/FR)
• Customization style consistent with the brand
• GDPR-compliant consent management

Shopify Transactional Emails Fully personalized emails to ensure continuity in the customer experience:

• Confirm order
• Shipment Confirmation
• Payment error
• In the process of delivery
• Delivered
• Ready for collection
• Retired

All emails have been redesigned keeping:

• Consistent brand identity
• Tone of voice Damiano Organic
• Coordinated graphic elements
• Conversion-optimized CTAs
• Perfect responsive design

Phase 2: AMS, Evolutionary and CRO

After the launch of the new platform, the continuous evolution phase began with a focus on:

• UX optimizations based on real data
• New features to increase conversion rate
• Integrations with advanced marketing tools
• Customer service automation

2.1 Gorgias Configuration

The Challenge : Implement a scalable and integrated omnichannel customer service system.

Solution Implemented:

1. Complete Onboarding

   • Demo sessions with the Gorgias team
   • Internal self-onboarding of the Hoculus team
   • Exploratory workshop with the client to identify the areas of greatest interest

2. Chat Widget Configuration

   • Installing widgets on the preview theme
   • Customized styling consistent with the brand
   • Setup automations and quick responses
   • Integration with Shopify customer database
   • Multilingual configuration (IT/FR)

3. Omnichannel Integration

   • Email support connection
   • Social media integration (Facebook, Instagram)
   • Synchronization of orders and customer data

Result : Centralized customer service system that reduced response times and improved customer satisfaction.

2.2 UX/CRO Optimizations

Checkbox Removal + Disclaimer
Problem : The “I accept the terms and conditions” checkbox in the cart was causing friction in the checkout process.

Solution :

• Mandatory checkbox removal
• Implemented a disclaimer above the "Checkout" button
• Text: "By clicking 'Proceed to Checkout' I accept the terms and conditions [LINK]"
• Improving UX without compromising legal compliance

Impact : Reduced cart drop-off rate, smoother process.

Language Selector Fix
Problem : The language selector in the footer and mobile menu was not automatically changing the market, causing confusion for users.

Technical Solution :

• Editing the localization form
• Automatic market update when language changes
• Selector Consolidation (Language + Currency)
• Cross-browser and multi-device testing

Result : Consistent user experience between .it (Italy) and .fr (France) domains.

Edit Key Bar Info Section

Action : Increased the size of the "Hoculus Info key bar" section to align it with the announcement bar, improving the visibility of key promotional messages.

Primary Tab Filters
The Challenge : The “Main Ingredient” filter used unintuitive collapsible content, hiding important options from users.

Solution Implemented :

Desktop:

• Ingredient tags as buttons arranged in a grid
• Position yourself above "Filters & Sort" for maximum visibility
• Style consistent with the blog's recipe section

Mobile:

• Horizontal slider layout if buttons exceed width
• Grid layout replication in the "Filter & Sort" sidebar
• "Main ingredient" moved to the top and opened by default
• Touch-optimized UX

2.3 International Catalog Management

Exclusion of Variants from the Catalogue
The Challenge : Need to show different product variants based on market (IT vs FR), but Shopify natively only allows exclusion/inclusion of entire products, not individual variants.

Architectural Solution :

1. Creating Bundle Products

   • Bundle with a single product but limited variants
   • IT Market: Original product with all variants
   • FR Market: Bundle with selected variants
   • Centralized management of analysis, inventory, logistics

2. Custom Administrative Views

   • View "Bundle for EU"
   • "Bundle to EU" view
   • Tag system for internal management
   • Simplified workflow for the team

3. Configuring Shipping Profiles

   • Granular inclusion/exclusion by variant
   • Market-specific setup

Advantages :

• Centralized inventory management
• Unified Analytics
• Simplified logistics process

Considerations :

• During checkout, a small reference to the original product (not available in excluded markets)
• Non-native but perfectly functional solution

Result : Perfectly differentiated catalogs by market with efficient operational management.

2.4 Innovations in Development

Pop-up Cross-sell Post ATC

This feature implements a cross-sell modal that activates after adding to cart, suggesting complementary products based on:

• Similar ingredients
• Related product lines
• Historical purchasing behavior

Results and Impact

Success Metrics

Technical Performance:

• ✅ Modern and scalable platform
• ✅ Optimized native multilingual support
• ✅ Management of differentiated catalogues by market
• ✅ Omnichannel customer service integration

User Experience:

• ✅ Premium UI/UX aligned with brand positioning
• ✅ Intuitive navigation with optimized filters
• ✅ Simplified checkout process
• ✅ Mobile-first experience

Business:

• ✅ Reduction of operational burden in daily management
• ✅ Greater flexibility in expanding the catalog
• ✅ Robust setup for international marketing campaigns
• ✅ Foundation ready for future growth

Continuous Evolution

The project represents a model of long-term partnership with concrete and tangible results :

• Continuous performance monitoring
• Iterative implementation of new features
• Data-driven CRO optimizations
• Ongoing strategic and technical support

Technologies and Tools

Platform and Framework:

• Shopify (E-commerce Platform)
• Liquid (Templating Language)
• JavaScript ES6+ (Custom interactivity)
• CSS3 & SCSS (Advanced Styling)

Third Party Integrations:

• Gorgias (Customer Service & Live Chat)
• Iubenda (Cookie Consent & Privacy)
• Google Analytics & Tag Manager
• Meta Business Suite (FB/IG Catalogs)
• Trusted Shops (Reviews & Trust Badge)
• and more

Development Tools:

• Shopify CLI (Development Environment)
• GitHub (Version Control)
• Chrome DevTools (Debugging & Performance)

Conclusions

The Damiano Organic project represents an exemplary case of digital transformation in the premium organic sector . Starting with a limited platform, we built a modern, scalable e-commerce site perfectly aligned with the brand's values.

Success Factors

1. Strategic Approach : In-depth pre-project audit that allowed us to identify all critical issues
2. Advanced Customization : Not just theme setup, but real UI/UX customizations
3. Continuous analysis and optimization : A continuous evolution model that guarantees competitiveness over time
4. Multidisciplinary Team : Different skills integrated for a holistic result