VoilaChef is an online platform funded by Sophie Dubost that offers pastry and bakery courses taught by France's top chefs. Originally launched in 2020 for a French audience, VoilaChef has rapidly expanded to serve users across the US, UK, Europe, Australia, and Canada.
Industry
Education
Company type
SMB
Solution
Customer app
Use case
Learning management system
Stop 01
Challenges
As VoilaChef scaled, they needed a robust backend to support their customer platform - including user authentication, course access, and integrations. The company initially used Airtable for data management and Memberstack for user authentication, connecting with a Webflow frontend.
Customize business logic
Julien Fernandes, the COO of VoilaChef, wanted a development platform that allowed them to define and customize business logic without the constraints of off-the-shelf app builders.
Develop faster at lower costs
VoilaChef was operating as a lean startup with the goal of scaling rapidly. They only had two developers, and wanted to maximize efficiency while minimizing overall spend. As Lucas Neves Simoes, CTO at VoilaChef, put it, "We wanted an app that could grow with us without needing a large team of experienced developers."
Ensure app scalability
VoilaChef wanted to future-proof their app. They currently have over 1,400+ customers. Lucas hopes that they'll increase their customer base by 500 every month for the next five years.
Stop 02
Solutions
VoilaChef's entire backend is powered by Xano - with 22 API endpoints for user authentication, 32 for the frontend, and 23 for importing new content. They integrate with Stripe for subscription payments, other third-party APIs for tasks like email automation, and WeWeb for their frontend.
Fast learning and development, with a team of just one
Julien managed the migration from Airtable, and built VoilaChef's first Xano backend himself - in just a few weeks. "A traditional approach would have required a full backend team and months of work," Lucas explained.
Xano had a smooth learning curve. Beyond documentation, the team uses Xano's video tutorials for real-world applications and the Community for specific questions and best practices.
VoilaChefs finds the ability to copy functions from one API to another especially helpful, reducing a five-minute process down to five seconds. For passwords stored in user tables, they could simply set requirements for password length without needing to create preconditions from scratch. Request history further helps accelerate development.
Efficient API calls with addons
Addons simplify logic structuring. Instead of multiple separate requests for course details and chef information, a single API call fetches everything at once - reducing load on the frontend.
A simple API call also enables infinite scrolling. "We use add-ons to access output information translated into the user's language. We plan to enhance it further by implementing fuzzy search," Lucas said.
Automated webhook requests
VoilaChef leverages database triggers to keep data in sync across systems. When a user changes their email in the app, a trigger automatically updates their email in both the mailing system and payment service. If a user updates their language setting, the trigger ensures future emails are sent in their preferred language.
Built-in security measures
Security was a top priority for VoilaChef, and Xano provided the tools to enforce strict controls. "All data import API calls are secured with unique API keys, ensuring only authorized services can send or retrieve data," Lucas explained. API calls that don't require keys are protected with authentication tokens, ensuring only logged-in users access those endpoints.
VoilaChef also assigns users different content access levels with role-based access controls - like between trial users and subscribers.
Learn more about how Xano can scale your business.
Initially, VoilaChef used Airtable for its MVP - but it quickly became clear that they needed more power and flexibility beyond defining data relationships.
Airtable provided some formulas and logic, but VoilaChef couldn't build the APIs they wanted. "We needed a more robust API system for real-time interactions. In Xano, you can build the way you want to build," Lucas said.
Creating custom APIs didn't introduce more complexity for VoilaChef. It actually simplified development.
With Xano, VoilaChef could finally build APIs tailored to their exact needs, optimized for performance and efficiency - instead of forcing workarounds with cookie-cutter solutions. "Other low-code/no-code solutions felt too limited in terms of flexibility, and Xano gave us the best balance between ease of use and power," Lucas explained.
Xano has a powerful API Builder to implement complex logic and integrate with other tools
The major selling point was the API Builder. "We do so much with the API Builder that we couldn't live without," Lucas said. Its functionality extends beyond data management to automated updates, processing, and triggered workflows. Lucas found the flexibility of the API Builder and its integrations, like with their WeWeb frontend, especially helpful.
Xano scales to millions of users
VoilaChef is confident that their solution will hold up years down the line - handling increased demand without performance bottlenecks or unexpected infrastructure headaches.
Auto-scaling infrastructure adjusts to traffic spikes and ensures smooth user experience. PostgreSQL keeps queries fast as VoilaChef's dataset expands. "We are reassured that we can scale with no limits with Xano," Lucas said.
"We saved money by not having to hire a dedicated backend team and avoiding infrastructure costs," Lucas explained. The time and money spent on hosting, scaling, and maintenance would have added up significantly. Xano took care of all server updates, data backups, security patches, logging, auto-scaling, authentication, encryption, rate limiting, and more.
VoilaChef reduced development time from months to just a few weeks
"Xano significantly reduced our development time. What would have taken months with a traditional backend was built in just a few weeks," Lucas said. The team plans to expand their API ecosystem for more content, and add new workspaces to enhance data management. "As VoilaChef scales, Xano will remain at the core of our platform."
