Cup of Jo’s is a cozy café set in an old stone house in Winchester, ON. Before the covid-19 pandemic, they served coffee, all-day breakfast, lunch and sweet treats.
When stores were closed in March due to the pandemic emergency orders, Jo-Ann Houle, the Cup of Jo’s owner, knew she needed to make a drastic change to her business. Since closing the café was not feasible even for a couple of days, she and her staff connected with their following on Facebook and started asking questions to find out more about what her clients were looking for from the local businesses. They then put their ideas on Facebook and asked if their following would support them. The feedback they received was outstanding! Jo-Ann and her husband decided to take a leap with their new business plan and try it for a few weeks. Launching Cup of Jo’s new service, Jo’s Family Meal Boxes.
Jo’s Family Meal Boxes developed from the idea of providing restaurant-quality meals to consumers to create on their own at home. Ingredients for these kits are measured precisely so clients can make the perfect dinner at home, with no waste and no fuss. All the produce and many of the ingredients are from local businesses such as Winchester’s Foodland. Cup of Jo’s received orders through Facebook messaging. Cup of Jo’s received a tremendous response from their community for this new offer.
Jo’s Family Meal Boxes’ orders quickly outgrew the Facebook messaging, and it became apparent that an eCommerce website was needed to meet the demand. Jo-Ann and her husband began researching online for platforms that would work best for them. This led them to the creation of Jo’s Family Meal Boxes website where consumers can order meal kits and buy bags of Cup of Jo’s Coffee and merchandise.
Due to the limited indoor dining capacity, Cup of Joe’s remains closed to the public. They continue to offer their meal kits and other products on e-commerce. But thanks to Jo-Ann’s quick pivot on their Cup of Jo’s business model, we will continue to enjoy the excellent coffee and perfect dinners.
