BPM CRAFT BEVERAGEPBM Coffee is a wholesale coffee distributor and leader in the local coffee marketplace. John and Eric Shkreli continue to provide the finest espresso imported directly from Italy, while also sourcing the finest arabica beans from around the world to in-house manufacturing of Nitro-Cold Brew on draft.
Duration: April - June, 2024
Role: Account Manager, Designer
Project Vision
I was challenged with designing a website for BPM in it’s entirety. This included research on the clientele, the company, and the market. The goal was to create a website that had a purchasing option for both individuals and wholesalers. This website also needed to have a page for each service that BPM provided, including coffee machinery, imported coffee, cold brew kegs, private label, and other caveats.
Kickoff
In this project, I used a goal-directed design approach to reimagine the digital experience for a coffee distributor operating in a fast-paced, purchase-driven environment. By anchoring each design decision in user needs, business goals, and real-world ordering behaviors, I was able to move deliberately from research and discovery into wireframing, prototyping, and high-fidelity design.
Particular attention was paid to balancing storytelling around quality and sourcing with the need for speed and usability, especially for repeat wholesale customers. To guide this work, I grounded the project in a series of foundational questions that shaped the experience from end to end and ensured the final solution was both functional and scalable.
What core problem does this product/website solve for coffee buyers?
How does this platform support both first-time customers and repeat purchasers?
What differentiates this coffee distributor from competitors in a saturated market?
What level of coffee knowledge do our users bring with them?
What do users need most when purchasing coffee online (speed, trust, education, flexibility)?
What information helps users feel confident about quality, sourcing, and freshness?
How do users typically reorder, and how can we reduce friction in repeat purchases?
What frustrations exist with current coffee distributor websites?
Where do users experience drop-off during browsing, selection, or checkout?
Challenges
Effectively displaying each service that BPM provides.
Creating and selling on Shopify
Balancing B2B and B2C needs: serving wholesale buyers (cafés, restaurants) while still appealing to individual consumers with very different goals, expectations, and purchasing behaviors.
Complex product hierarchies: organizing roasts, origins, blends, grind types, quantities, and subscription options without overwhelming users.
Communicating quality without physical cues: translating aroma, taste, and freshness, things users normally experience in person.
Speed to purchase: distributors often need quick reorders; designing a fast, repeatable checkout flow is critical.
Inventory and fulfillment clarity: keeping availability, shipping timelines, and bulk pricing accurate and easy to understand.
Preparing The Journey
Wireframing
Iteration
This website took many iterations and lots of collaboration with the client. We eventually came to a close and the website went live. Designing the coffee distributor platform reinforced the importance of setting aside assumptions and allowing user needs and business constraints to guide each design decision. Research revealed how competitive and fragmented the coffee market is, pushing me to think critically about how clarity, trust, and storytelling could differentiate the brand. I developed a deeper appreciation for transparency, especially around sourcing, pricing, and freshness, recognizing that these details are essential to building confidence in an online purchasing experience.
Iteration challenged me to remain flexible and user-focused, refining flows to support both first-time buyers and repeat customers while removing friction wherever possible. Establishing a clear design system helped create consistency across product pages, checkout, and reordering, strengthening both usability and brand credibility. Overall, this project deepened my ability to design scalable e-commerce experiences with empathy, intention, and a strong balance between business goals and user trust.
Editors note***
I no longer manage this page and since then things have been changed. This shift gives me the opportunity to show how I would do things differently. For instance, the webpage navigation. I would list the nav bar as follows: Shop, Cold Brew, Espresso, Wholesale, & About Us. This simple change gives the webpage an easier flow through products and services.