Big things are baking — see you in a few weeks

Dipped is closing for a few weeks — and we're genuinely excited about it, because of what's waiting on the other side. When the doors open again, this is going to be a noticeably better version of Dipped: faster, sturdier, and carrying a few things we've wanted to build for a very long time.

So what's happening?

Two things, at the same time, on purpose.

First: Flynn, our head baker, is heading overseas for a few weeks to see his partner. Long overdue, and honestly well earned.

Second: we're using that window to give Dipped the upgrade it's been asking for. We're moving the whole shop onto a much bigger, faster setup of its own. It's the kind of job you want a quiet stretch for, and a quiet stretch is exactly what we've got.

Moving into a bigger kitchen

Think of it like outgrowing your first oven. What we've been running on has served us brilliantly — it got Dipped from a handful of Auckland suburbs to menus selling out most weeks. But we've simply outgrown it, and lately you've probably felt that: a page that hangs at the worst moment, usually right after a new menu drops and everyone piles in at once.

That's the good kind of problem to have, and it's a completely normal milestone for a growing online shop. Everyone hits it eventually. We'd just rather fix it properly than keep patching around it.

Here's what the new setup buys us:

• A site that stays up in the busy moments — the exact ones it currently struggles with.
• Faster pages, especially the menu and checkout.
• Plenty of headroom to grow into, instead of a ceiling to bump against.
• A proper foundation for the features we've got queued up. Some of them simply weren't possible before.

Why close, rather than do it quietly?

Swapping the engine is easy. Swapping the engine while the car's doing 100 on the motorway is a different sport.

— Roughly how this job works

We could do it live. We'd just rather not have anyone's checkout hiccup halfway through a move. Closing for a few weeks means every order lands cleanly, every confirmation arrives, and we get to do the job properly with our full attention on it. Same standard we hold for the cookies, really.

What's still on while we're away

• The Flavour Vault, reviews, our story, delivery areas and the FAQ are all still there to browse.
• Dipped: The Game is still live and still very playable. Your bakery saves in your own browser, so it'll be waiting exactly where you left it.
• Spin the wheel in the game while we're gone. Every code it hands out is real, and every one of them works the day we're back.
• Ordering reopens the moment the countdown hits zero.

You might catch the site blinking offline for a minute here and there as we shift things across. That's just the move happening — nothing to worry about.

Coming back: Dipped Rewards

Now the fun part. When we return, we're launching Dipped Rewards — a loyalty programme built around the people who order with us week after week. It's the thing we've wanted to do for ages and could never quite build on the old setup. Full details land with the announcement when the countdown reaches zero.

And it isn't arriving alone. There are several other changes coming at the same time, and we're keeping them quiet for now — partly because showing you beats describing them, and partly because announcing the lot on one day is a great deal more fun. What we'll say is this: these weeks aren't only about servers. We're using them to make Dipped better in ways you'll notice straight away.

To our weekly regulars

Some of you order nearly every menu we run. You're the reason this whole thing exists, and you're the ones who'll notice these weeks most. Thank you for being that patient with a small bakery figuring it out as it grows — including on the days the site fell over on you.

Dipped Rewards is, in a very real way, for you. We can't wait to show you.

See you in a few weeks. The ovens will be warm and there'll be a fair bit to talk about.

— Flynn & the Dipped team