Redefining Food Distribution for Consumers and HoReCa in Romania

The problem

The client ran a stable but capped business: refrigerated container storage. Storage fees alone could not support the growth they wanted, and the work to get there kept hitting the same walls.

• Capped revenue: a storage-only model left no room to grow beyond a fixed set of clients.
• Manual processes: order handling ran on outdated systems that did not scale.
• Hard sourcing for HoReCa: local restaurants and hotels had no simple way to order quality ingredients in the quantities they needed.
• No online reach: without a storefront, sales stayed limited to a small local base.

The client needed a way to sell directly to both businesses and consumers, not just rent cold space.

The solution

Life Value designed and built Gourmify.ro, a dual B2B and B2C eCommerce platform that serves retail shoppers and HoReCa clients from a single catalog of premium BIO foods, artisanal cheeses, wines, and fresh ingredients.

What we built into the platform:

• Unified ordering: one flow for browsing, ordering, and tracking deliveries that works for both individuals and businesses.
• Automated invoicing and payments: SmartBill and Stripe handle billing and card payments, so each order is invoiced and recorded without manual data entry.
• Smart inventory: stock converts between bulk wholesale quantities and single retail units, so the same product fits a restaurant order or a household one.
• Roles and pricing plans: membership levels give restaurants, hotels, and cafes their own pricing and offers, separate from retail shoppers.
• Mobile-first design: the storefront is built to work cleanly on phones, where many HoReCa buyers place orders.
• Phased rollout: we shipped a focused MVP first, tested it with real orders, and added features from there.

The results

• New revenue lines: the business moved from storage-only fees to direct product sales across two customer types.
• Wider market: online ordering opened sales to consumers and HoReCa clients in Oradea and the surrounding region.
• Less manual work: automated ordering, invoicing, and payments cut down the admin behind each sale.
• Room to grow: the platform is built to add products, suppliers, and delivery areas without a rebuild.

How it works

A shopper or a restaurant buyer browses the same catalog and sees pricing that matches their account type. When an order is placed, Stripe processes the payment and SmartBill generates the invoice, while inventory adjusts in the right unit, whether that is a single jar or a wholesale case. The team manages stock, roles, and pricing from one back office, so retail and HoReCa sales run side by side without duplicate work.

FAQ

Who is Gourmify.ro for?

Both home cooks and HoReCa businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and cafes. Each group gets pricing and ordering suited to how they buy.

How are orders and invoices handled?

Stripe handles card payments and SmartBill handles invoicing. The two are connected to the order flow, so billing happens automatically with each sale.

How does the platform handle bulk and single-unit orders?

Inventory converts between wholesale quantities and individual units, so the same product can be sold by the case to a business or by the piece to a shopper.

Why start with an MVP?

A focused first release let the client launch sooner, see how real customers ordered, and add features based on what was actually used.

Conclusion

Gourmify.ro shows how a traditional operation can grow into something larger without throwing away what already works. By turning a cold storage business into a dual B2B and B2C food platform, Life Value gave the client new revenue lines, a wider customer base, and a back office that keeps retail and wholesale sales running together. The result is a modern, customer-focused distribution hub that is ready to grow as the business does.