Overview
Union Swiss, makers of the globally recognised Bio-Oil skincare brand, partnered with Bluegrass Digital to develop a mobile platform that would transform how it communicates with its international distributor network.
Originally launched as an Instagram-inspired application, the platform gave distributors access to marketing content, company updates and brand news in one central place. As the business grew, so too did the role of the application. Today, it serves as Union Swiss’s primary communication channel for sharing marketing campaigns, product launches, business updates and performance insights with distributors around the world.
Bluegrass continues to partner with Union Swiss to refine the platform, ensuring it remains secure, reliable and aligned with the changing needs of the business.
The Challenge
As Union Swiss’s business evolved, the platform needed to evolve with it.
What began as a community-driven application where distributors could share ideas and campaigns gradually became a structured communication hub, enabling Union Swiss to deliver consistent messaging, marketing content and business updates across its global distributor network.
At the same time, the pace of change in the mobile ecosystem meant the platform required ongoing investment. New operating systems, framework releases and security requirements created the need for continuous improvement while maintaining the stability and reliability users depended on every day.
The Solution
Bluegrass has worked alongside Union Swiss over several years to strengthen both the platform and the technology behind it.
As business requirements changed, new functionality was introduced to support richer communications and provide distributors with greater visibility into business performance. Behind the scenes, the engineering team focused on improving platform resilience, simplifying future development and creating a stronger technical foundation for continued growth.
Key initiatives included:
- Refreshing the mobile architecture through React Native and Expo upgrades, creating a stronger foundation for future development.
- Improving feed rendering, media playback and scrolling performance to deliver a faster, smoother user experience.
- Expanding automated end-to-end testing and strengthening release processes to enable safer, more predictable deployments.
- Enhancing platform monitoring and operational visibility through improved logging and analytics.
- Strengthening database architecture, cloud infrastructure and security while reducing operational costs.
- Streamlining deployment pipelines, significantly reducing mobile build times and improving delivery efficiency
These improvements were delivered incrementally, allowing the platform to continue supporting day-to-day business operations without disruption.
The Impact
Today, the Bio-Oil platform is the central communication hub between Union Swiss and its global distributor network.
By combining ongoing product development with continuous technical improvement, Bluegrass has helped ensure the platform continues to meet changing business requirements while providing a reliable experience for users worldwide.
Key outcomes include:
- A platform that has successfully adapted as the business and its communication needs have evolved.
- Improved application performance across the platform’s most frequently used features, including content feeds and media playback.
- Faster, more efficient release cycles through modernised build and deployment processes.
- Stronger engineering practices, automated testing and monitoring that support higher-quality releases.
- Reduced operational costs through infrastructure and database optimisation.
- A long-term technology partnership focused on continuous improvement and sustainable product development.
Keep Your Mobile Platform Moving Forward
Building an app is only the beginning. The real challenge is keeping it fast, secure and aligned with changing business needs over time.
At Bluegrass Digital, we partner with organisations to continuously improve their mobile platforms through product development, performance optimisation and technical modernisation. Whether you’re launching a new application or extending the life of an existing one, we help create solutions that are built to evolve.
👉 Talk to us about your mobile platform
