Spice Sensuality.
A storefront became a story world.
Spice is a real boutique on Industrial Drive in Santa Rosa, with more than 15,000 products online. The store felt warm and personal; the website felt like a catalogue. We rebuilt it on the platform Spice already owns, gave it a voice with an AI advisor that only suggests what is on the shelf, built a comedy video engine around the brand, and added a seasonal layer that turns on with one switch.
The build,
in Bryan's words.
Bryan Fikes walks through what Bonsai built for Spice Sensuality in Santa Rosa: the native site rebuild, guides written like the counter talks, Ask Spice (an AI advisor that only suggests what is on the shelf), a comedy video engine with YouTube and shoppable blog posts, and a seasonal layer that switches on and off.
What we
walked into.
A real, much-loved local boutique whose website did not feel like the store: a search bar, a long product-type menu, sale banners, and product pages where the main photo sometimes failed to load.
A large catalogue with adult products, which rules out a lot of default marketing playbooks and demands careful, discreet, non-crude presentation.
The redesign had to stay native to the platform Spice's team already edits, keep the catalogue and checkout working through cutover, and leave room for content beyond product pages.
The play.
Narrow on purpose.
One feeling up front
The homepage leads with one line, 'Find what feels good,' real product photography and a single question: what are you looking for tonight? Paths for her, for him, for couples, lingerie, wellness, gifts and an honest 'I'm not sure.' The store itself, its front door, counter and hours, is part of the story.
Written the way the counter talks
Guides for a first toy, for lube and for bringing something new into a relationship, written the way the staff answer questions in person. No jargon, no judgment, and every product mentioned is one the store carries at a live price.
An advisor that cannot make things up
Ask Spice searches the live catalogue and can only show products that came back from that search, in stock and with a photo. Ask for an anniversary gift under $40 and it returns real candles at real prices, then asks a follow-up question. A real person is always one tap away.
A video engine, not a video
Short comedy built around the brand promise, less awkward and more connection: Skip the Candle, Skip the Instructions and Bedroom Tech Support, plus character sketches. Each video goes to the Spice YouTube channel, into a blog post with its transcript and the products shown, and onto a two-week social calendar.
What
we shipped.
Site rebuild
- → Native rebuild on the platform Spice already owns, so their team keeps editing the way they always have
- → Intent-led homepage, five 'rooms' that mirror the store floor, and category pages with filter chips
- → Product pages with a clear buy path and the store's hours and directions alongside
- → Guides hub: choosing a first toy, lubricant guide, better together, a little kink gently, cleaning and care
Ask Spice
- → Conversational advisor grounded in the live catalogue; only in-stock products with a photo can be suggested
- → Spend cap and rate limits, with a rule-based fallback if the AI is unavailable
- → Call the store, visit, or send a question to the Spice team from the same screen
Content and seasons
- → Spice YouTube channel launched with 9 videos: comedy shorts, character sketches and age-restricted cuts
- → 6 blog posts, each with the embedded video, a transcript, the products from the video and VideoObject schema
- → Two-week content calendar across the channels
- → Halloween 'Midnight at Spice' seasonal layer: subtle or immersive, fully reversible, never touching products, prices or checkout; built and tested on staging, awaiting the client's go-ahead
What's
live now.
- ✦ The site now feels like the store: warm, direct and personal, with the real shop front and floor on the page
- ✦ Shoppers can ask a question in plain English and get real, in-stock products back
- ✦ Every video has more than one life: YouTube, a shoppable blog post and the social calendar
- ✦ A seasonal layer built and tested, ready to switch on for Halloween and back off again
The seven disciplines.
These three did the work.
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