Sweetening the Customer Experience and Streamlining Operations for Jersey Mike’s
Retail Merchandising, Operational Strategy, Packaging Design, Branding, Innovation, ResearchAjnci partnered with Jersey Mike's to completely revolutionize their dessert and point-of-sale program. By overhauling a cluttered and inefficient counter setup with a premium, freshly baked merchandising strategy, we created a seamless visual and operational experience. Our team engineered custom display equipment, redesigned the entire packaging suite, and streamlined the product line. This comprehensive approach not only boosted impulse purchases but also significantly reduced daily operational friction for franchise crew members.
CHALLENGE
Before Ajnci's intervention, the dessert program at Jersey Mike's was visually disjointed and suffered from severe operational bottlenecks. Counter spaces were overwhelmed by a chaotic mix of marketing window clings and aftermarket silverware trays functioning as makeshift dessert baskets. Visually, the desserts were getting lost in the shuffle. Operationally, crew members were burning valuable morning prep time by individually wrapping each cookie in cellophane to maintain freshness. Furthermore, juggling multiple cookie sizes caused daily inventory and baking headaches for the staff. The overall presentation fell flat, completely missing the premium, "Made to order" brand promise that defines Jersey Mike's core sandwich menu.
RESULTS
The revamped program successfully transformed a neglected menu category into a high-visibility revenue driver, yielding an impressive 25% sales lift across all dessert and private label CPG items with a standardized presentation across all locations. By transitioning to a single cookie size and shifting the packaging process to the point of sale, Ajnci saved franchise locations countless hours of morning prep labor and significantly reduced material waste. Visually, the new aesthetic—highlighted by custom, eye-level displays—aligned the dessert program beautifully with Jersey Mike's premium brand promise. Furthermore, industry data indicates that moving point-of-sale impulse items to custom displays and introducing bundled options, such as the newly designed 3-pack and 6-pack boxes, routinely drives a 15% to 20% increase in average ticket size for fast-casual concepts.
Jersey Mike's Subs is a rapidly growing, premier fast-casual sandwich franchise with over 3,200 locations across North America. Founded in 1956, the brand has cultivated a fiercely loyal customer base and is famous for its authentic, fresh-sliced, and fresh-grilled submarine sandwiches.
APPROACH
INNOVATION
To maximize vertical space without expanding the already limited counter footprint, Ajnci conceptualized "The Boardwalk". This innovative merchandising add-on is a custom rack designed to retrofit seamlessly onto the top of existing Frito Lay chip racks. By adding a fourth tier, it elegantly organizes grab-n-go desserts and future retail items directly in the customer's line of sight.
Our creative team developed a fresh, cohesive visual identity that elevated the entire dessert line. To give context to the visual transformation, we designed a custom, tileable "Fresh Baked" pattern featuring modern typography and playful illustrations of cookies and ingredients. This visually engaging branding was applied consistently across all new packaging touchpoints, ensuring the products looked as premium as they tasted.
APPROACH
RESEARCH
We kicked off the project with immersive, on-the-ground field research, meeting with area managers, franchisees, and crew members in multiple stores. By directly observing daily operations and listening to front-line workers, we pinpointed that standardizing dessert offerings to a single size and removing counter clutter were their most critical priorities.
APPROACH
EQUIPMENT
We engineered sleek, brand-tailored counter displays that scream premium bakery. Visualizing the upgrade, we designed food-safe acrylic units featuring magnetic swing doors, easily cleanable removable trays, and integrated top-level storage to hide serving tongs. Alongside this, the metal "Boardwalk" rack was developed to provide an organized, high-visibility home for products without eating up valuable counter real estate.
Ajnci completely redesigned the packaging suite, replacing the unappealing and labor-intensive cellophane wrap with an eco-friendly individual paper sleeve featuring a clear viewing window. To drive higher-ticket impulse buys and cater to catering or group orders, we also conceptualized and designed premium 3-pack and 6-pack dessert boxes, beautifully wrapped in the new "Fresh Baked" visual identity.
APPROACH
OPERATIONS
We optimized the dessert supply chain by consolidating multiple cookie sizes into one standardized size, effectively eliminating the daily guesswork of what to bake. Furthermore, we shifted the packaging process from a tedious, labor-intensive morning prep task to a quick, on-demand action completed directly at the point of sale with the customer.
Before initiating a national rollout, we executed a rigorous 30-day innovation field test across 17 stores in diverse markets, including Miami, Austin, and Pennsylvania. This allowed us to monitor dessert sales across high-, average-, and low-volume locations while gathering crucial qualitative feedback from the crew regarding speed of service and equipment capacity.
APPROACH
WEBSITE
To ensure a flawless rollout and seamless adoption of the new displays by the crew, we built a dedicated stakeholder website. This digital portal centralized all project resources and housed a comprehensive, highly visual operations playbook, guiding staff through daily setup, cleaning protocols, and proper product rotation.