Image of Desi Saran and two other Sweetberry employees cheersing their smoothies

Case Studies

Desi Saran from Sweetberry increases operational efficiency with Otter

Oct 7, 2021 | 3 min read

Sweetberry CEO Desi Saran talks Otter

1 Founder & CEO. 13 Locations. $3,646 increase in monthly sales.

Sweetberry’s mission is simple: good people, good intentions, good (healthy) food, good vibes.

Desi Saran, a seasoned entrepreneur, restaurateur, world traveler, and self-proclaimed jiu-jitsu nerd with a passion for health and wellness, founded Sweetberry in 2017.

Created to cater to the ever-growing health-conscious consumer, Sweetberry offers fast and healthy alternatives that are both beautiful and delicious.

“We hope to inspire people to be more conscious of their health and wellness from both the nutrition angle and the energy angle. Being able to educate the public about holistic wellness through nutritious, high-quality food is what gets me and my team most excited.”

Read on to learn how Sweetberry spreads good food and good vibes beyond their 13 brick & mortar locations with Otter.

Image of table covered with multiple acai bowls, fruit toppings and more

Prioritizing off-premise to increase sales & orders at Sweetberry

Pre-pandemic, Sweetberry was already doing a high-volume of delivery orders. By January 2020, Desi and his team were using DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and Postmates, which was accounting for about 22% of the restaurant group’s sales.

“As an entrepreneur, I always knew that off-premise was going to be a big focus for us. The pandemic really just accelerated the rate of our delivery growth.”

A constant innovator, after signing up for the various food delivery services, Desi began optimizing Sweetberry’s delivery business through delivery-only menus delivery-only menus, pricing and products.

One of those delivery-only menus was Sweetberry Poké. This “experiment” worked so well that Desi & his team decided to expand what was originally an açaí only concept into a full-fledged health food restaurant. “Today we offer açaí, poke, paninis, salad, wraps, smoothies and more.”

Image of a plant wall with pink neon sign that says "Good vibes only!" in the Sweetberry dining room

The search for the perfect delivery management partner

While the Sweetberry team was taking all the right steps towards succeeding in delivery – using multiple platforms, optimizing menus, and experimenting with new items – there was one constant point of tension that needed a solution. And when the pandemic hit, resulting in a major increase in delivery orders, that point of tension hit a breaking point. “All the tablets... The notifications were endless. We didn’t have a direct integration into our Clover POS which meant we were manually inputting orders resulting in errors, cancellations and stress.”

At this point, Desi took a proactive approach and signed up for a delivery aggregation service.

“We began working with (a competitor), but the product and partnership just wasn’t where we needed it to be. The user interface was complicated, the reporting was overly simplified, and (competitor) didn’t integrate with our Clover POS. That’s when I switched to Otter.”

Image of Sweetberry bowls, one with fruit, two with vegetables

Partnering with Otter to superpower Sweetberry's delivery business

Desi spoke to a customer success manager who explained the always-on partnership, seamless POS integration capabilities, and best-in-class analytics and reporting suite.

Since partnering with Otter, Desi Saran and Sweetberry have seen a $3,646 increase in monthly sales.

Other results include: