From Guesswork to Growth with Nabu

In early 2024, Harbor & Hearth, a small gourmet foods shop with a storefront in town and a growing online presence, had built a loyal customer base through word of mouth, farmers markets, and social media. Their curated pantry goods—like smoked sea salt caramels, wild blueberry preserves, and infused oils—had developed a cult following locally. But scaling beyond their zip code? That was a challenge.

Despite decent website traffic and decent reviews, conversion rates were unpredictable. Email campaigns felt like they were shouting into the void. The team at Harbor & Hearth knew they had something special—they just didn’t know who it was special for.

That’s when they brought in Nabu.

Using only their existing POS and e-commerce data, Nabu surfaced clear, actionable customer segments:

• “Weekday Planners” who restocked pantry staples like clockwork.

• “Gifting Gourmets” who spiked during the holidays but had untapped year-round potential.

• “Flavor Chasers” who loved trying bold new releases, often at premium price points.

With Nabu Harbor & Hearth acted fast:

• They built email flows and product bundles specifically for each group.

• Launched limited drops based on flavor preferences.

• And tailored in-store signage and sampling to match the segment behavior observed online.

In just one quarter:

• Repeat purchase rate increased by 35%.

• Email engagement doubled.

• A lagging item was repositioned and became a top seller among flavor chasers.

“We’re a small team—we don’t have a full data science department. But Nabu made it feel like we did. It gave us language for who our customers are and confidence in how we speak to them.”

— Laura Merrill, Founder of Harbor & Hearth

What started as a beloved local shop has now become a regional brand-in-the-making—with online growth accelerating and store traffic benefiting from smarter, more personalized outreach.