“Tarmac’s development team brought the technical expertise and clear communication we needed to build out our mobile app with Flutter. Their partnership helped us create a strong foundation that lets us launch features faster across platforms as our business needs evolve.”
When Caribou, one of the most beloved coffeehouse chains in the U.S., set out to enhance its mobile experience, they knew it needed more than a design refresh. They needed a technology partner who could help them scale, streamline, and deliver an app that lived up to their brand. Tarmac began working with Caribou in 2017, and over six months in 2020 helped Caribou redesign their mobile apps from the ground up and build out a robust online ordering system used daily by thousands of guests.
Caribou Coffee: 800+ coffeehouses built on personal connection
Caribou Coffee serves high-quality handcrafted beverages and crave-worthy food in more than 800 coffeehouses worldwide. Since opening the first location in 1992, they’ve been committed to building personal connections in every experience. This desire drives its dedication to supporting its communities and crafting menu items with premium ingredients, such as specialty-grade coffee and real chocolate chips in its handcrafted beverages. Focused on smart growth, Caribou operates and franchises coffeehouses across 11 countries, with the purpose of creating day-making experiences that spark a chain reaction of good.
From a design refresh to an online ordering platform
Caribou’s initial goal was to re-implement their native iOS and Android apps with a fresh, modern design and introduce new functionality, specifically, a seamless Order Ahead experience. But the technical scope quickly expanded. They needed a custom backend infrastructure to support online orders across hundreds of coffeehouses and ensure consistency across both platforms.
As the product matured, so did the approach. To simplify development and reduce platform-specific inconsistencies, Caribou made the strategic decision to move to a multi-platform technology stack: Flutter. Tarmac’s team led the full rebuild of the mobile app using Flutter, reducing complexity, increasing consistency, and unifying the development process.
Native iOS and Android apps
Two platforms developed separately, with platform-specific inconsistencies between them.
One Flutter codebase
Reduced complexity, increased consistency, and a unified development process for both platforms.
The result? A high-performance mobile app featured on the official Flutter Showcase.
How Tarmac rebuilt the Caribou Coffee app in Flutter
Tarmac approached the project with a flexible, collaborative mindset and a focus on long-term scalability. We assembled a cross-functional team of mobile developers, backend engineers, and designers to support Caribou’s roadmap.
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Process
Agile development using Scrum
Focused on rapid feedback loops and continuous validation.
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Delivery
CI/CD automation
To accelerate testing, delivery, and deployment.
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Quality
Unit testing coverage
To ensure business logic reliability.
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Communication
Direct IM-based communication
With client teams for fast decision-making and iteration.
Using Flutter, a multi-platform framework that enabled a single codebase for iOS and Android, translated to reduced development overhead and allowed the entire mobile team to collaborate seamlessly across platforms.
Close daily collaboration, both internally and with Caribou’s team, was key to the project’s success, with instant messaging used for rapid decision-making and problem solving. The adaptable team structure allowed Tarmac to scale resources up or down as needed, keeping the project lean while still delivering on performance, reliability, and user experience.
A team that scaled with each phase
Tarmac adapted its team composition over the project’s lifetime based on phase, scope, and velocity needs.
Order Ahead: skip the line and save time
Tarmac worked closely with Caribou Coffee to deliver a mobile experience that not only looks great but adds real value to both users and the business. The standout feature that powers the app is Order Ahead, which allows customers to browse the full menu, customize their beverages, and place orders for pickup at their chosen coffeehouse, skip the lines, and save time.
A highly rated app on both platforms
- Featuredon Google’s Flutter Showcase
- ~500Caribou Coffee store locations supported
- 4.8★rating on the Apple App Store
- 4.9★rating on Google Play
- 41releases
- 6 monthsto redesign the apps and build online ordering, in 2020
The Caribou Coffee app is now a core part of the brand’s digital strategy, delivering convenience, delight, and quality to customers daily. With tens of thousands of positive ratings on the App Store, the app has seen widespread adoption across platforms.
What the Flutter rebuild delivered
The collaboration between Caribou Coffee and Tarmac has transformed a complex, multi-platform app into a seamless, scalable solution that delights users. Through strategic use of Flutter and agile collaboration, Tarmac helped Caribou modernize their mobile presence and streamline development and improve consistency, resulting in a highly rated app with 41 releases and a place in Flutter Showcase.
Tech stack
- Flutter
- iOS
- Android
- CI/CD
- Unit testing
- Scrum