From WhatsApp groups to Shopify: a 7-day migration plan

We see this every week: a kitchen at 80-150 subscribers, managing everything in a WhatsApp group plus a Google Sheet. It works until it doesn't.

Here is the 7-day migration plan we walk pilot kitchens through.

Day 1: Inventory. Export your subscriber list. Phone, name, address, current weekly order, pincode. Tag any "tricky" customers (allergies, custom meals).

Day 2: Pincode mapping. Group customers by pincode. This becomes your initial zone map. Identify the 3-4 highest-density pincodes — your priority zones.

Day 3: Menu setup. Upload 6-8 meals per week into MealDispatch with photos. Don't try to upload 4 weeks ahead. Just next week.

Day 4: Announcement. WhatsApp message + email. "Starting next week we're moving ordering to a new system. Same food, easier selection. Here's your invite link."

Day 5: Activation. Push the storefront. Invite all subscribers. Expect 60-70% to sign up in the first 24 hours.

Day 6: Chase. Personal WhatsApp to the 30% who haven't activated. Mostly they just need a nudge. A handful will need a phone call.

Day 7: First cutoff. Run your first real cutoff. Manually call any non-responders. Use the fallback rule for the rest.

The hard part is psychological, not technical. Subscribers love this when you frame it as an upgrade ("you can pick your own meals now") rather than a system change.