FiftyFive modernized a Sweden-based bakery and café chain's React Native application, migrating it from Expo SDK v48 to v53 and resolving the build failures blocking releases. FiftyFive added a digital loyalty and rewards programme, a coworking booking system, and a redesigned home experience. The modernized app now loads 60% faster with zero crash reports and fully reliable push notifications.
Build Your Platform With UsThe client is a Sweden-based bakery and café chain operating multiple outlets across the region. The business wanted to modernize its existing mobile application to support digital loyalty, coworking space bookings, and stronger customer engagement. FiftyFive was engaged to stabilize the ageing React Native codebase and build the digital services layer on top of it.
Modernizing a live mobile application used daily by café customers meant fixing years of accumulated technical debt without disrupting the existing user base. FiftyFive had to restore release stability first, then build new revenue-generating features on a foundation that could support them.
FiftyFive deployed a dedicated four-engineer team in a two-track approach: stabilize the foundation, then build on it. The team worked through the SDK migration path, modularized Firebase, and restored a working CI/CD pipeline before layering new digital services on top. Loyalty, coworking bookings, authentication, and an improved order flow were delivered alongside a redesigned home experience. Testing and analytics were built into the pipeline so stability held across subsequent releases.
FiftyFive addressed the infrastructure blocking releases before touching feature work.
FiftyFive built the retention layer the chain previously had no way to offer.
FiftyFive extended the application beyond ordering into a second revenue stream.
FiftyFive rebuilt the entry point of the application around speed and discoverability.
FiftyFive put the tooling in place to keep the application stable after handover.
Dedicated Engineers
FiftyFive delivered a modernized application that loads faster, releases reliably, and now supports two revenue-generating digital services the chain did not previously offer. Stability held across five consecutive SDK upgrades.
FiftyFive cut mobile app load time by 60% through improved image caching and a rebuilt home interface.
FiftyFive stabilized the React Native application to zero reported crashes following the Expo SDK modernization.
FiftyFive achieved fully reliable push notification delivery by modularizing Firebase and integrating native iOS and Android handling.
FiftyFive maintained continuous multi-platform releases across five SDK upgrades, keeping the application deployable and future-ready.
Mobile app modernization is the process of upgrading an existing application's framework, dependencies, infrastructure, and interface so it runs reliably on current devices and operating systems. Modernization typically covers SDK migrations, build pipeline repair, performance optimization, and interface redesign, often alongside new feature development on the stabilized codebase.
React Native applications stop building when the SDK version falls several releases behind because each release introduces breaking changes to native dependencies, configuration formats, and third-party libraries. Skipping versions compounds these changes. Upgrading usually requires migrating through intermediate versions in sequence rather than jumping directly to the latest release.
FiftyFive upgrades Expo SDK by migrating through intermediate versions in sequence, resolving breaking changes at each step, and validating builds on iOS and Android before moving forward. Conflicting native configuration — Firebase being a common source — is modularized first, since unresolved conflicts block builds on both platforms simultaneously.
Mobile app modernization timelines depend on how far behind the framework has fallen, how many native dependencies conflict, and whether new features ship alongside the upgrade. Stabilization work is usually staged before feature development so that releases become dependable first. FiftyFive scopes timelines after reviewing the existing codebase and build pipeline.
Mobile app modernization cost depends on team size, engagement duration, the scope of SDK and dependency migration, and whether new features are built alongside the upgrade. FiftyFive bills monthly on actual man-hours worked and offers a two-week free proof of concept so scope and effort can be assessed before commitment.
Restaurants and café chains build digital loyalty into a mobile app using a digital loyalty card that tracks customer visits or spend, combined with campaign banners for promotional offers. Loyalty features depend on secure authentication and reliable user management, since rewards must be tied accurately to individual customer accounts.
A digital loyalty programme increases repeat visits by giving customers a tracked, visible reason to return to the same brand. For the Sweden-based bakery and café chain FiftyFive worked with, the loyalty and rewards programme increased repeat visits and supported targeted campaigns delivered directly through the application.
Slow mobile app load times are commonly caused by inefficient caching and unoptimized image handling, which force the application to re-fetch and re-render assets on every screen. Fixing these through improved caching strategies and interface optimization produces measurable gains — FiftyFive achieved a 60% load time reduction using this approach.
Push notification reliability depends on clean, modularized backend configuration and native integration on each platform. Conflicting Firebase setup is a frequent cause of delivery failures and build errors. FiftyFive modularized Firebase services and integrated native iOS and Android push handling to achieve fully reliable notification delivery.
A CI/CD pipeline for React Native automates building, testing, and deploying the application to iOS and Android. It matters because unstable builds freeze the product roadmap — no fixes or features can ship. FiftyFive uses EAS pipelines with continuous deployment monitoring and Jest unit testing to keep releases predictable.
Features can be added during modernization, but the build pipeline usually needs to work first. FiftyFive stabilizes the SDK, dependencies, and CI/CD pipeline before layering new development on top. For the bakery chain, loyalty, coworking bookings, authentication, and order flow improvements followed the Expo SDK v48 to v53 migration.
FiftyFive provides dedicated React Native engineering teams for mobile app modernization, SDK migration, and feature development. The bakery chain engagement ran with a four-engineer team covering mobile development, UI/UX design, DevOps, and QA. FiftyFive operates across India, the UK, Sweden, and the UAE with time-zone-aligned delivery.
Book a call or fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you once we’ve processed your request.
Choose your preferred AI assistant
