Blue Bottle Coffee is a specialty coffee company with cafes across the United States and Asia, known for its meticulous approach to sourcing, roasting, and brewing.
When Blue Bottle Coffee set out to launch its new e-commerce site, accessibility was identified as a priority across the project. Working with Deque, Blue Bottle evolved its approach to accessibility, making it a more consistent part of its development process.
Building a scalable accessibility program
As Blue Bottle Coffee developed its new e-commerce site, the team prioritized accessibility and identified the need for a more structured approach to support implementation. They needed to achieve both immediate improvements and long-term progress.
Transforming good intentions into action
When the engineering team began developing the new e-commerce site, accessibility was identified as a priority. As development progressed, the team recognized that achieving accessibility required a more structured approach and additional expertise.
The team identified the need to strengthen their understanding of accessibility to support more consistent implementation over time.
Reviewing the Axe Auditor dashboard and the support available gave the team greater visibility into its current accessibility performance and areas for improvement. That clarity helped inform the decision to move forward and highlighted the need for a more formal accessibility strategy.
Building knowledge and confidence
Blue Bottle partnered with Deque to design a scalable digital accessibility program. The engagement began with a comprehensive digital accessibility audit, aligned with WCAG 2.2 AA standards. To gain expertise, develop best practices, and build lasting capability, the team turned to Deque University, which became the foundation for training and upskilling. Through Deque University, the team gained the knowledge needed to fix issues, prevent new ones, and educate others along the way.
Embedding accessibility in everyday work
With Deque’s support, the team helped bring accessibility into Blue Bottle’s engineering culture and sprint planning, adopting tools on top of their training and audit work. The engineering team reassessed how they run sprints and review designs, allowing them to identify and resolve accessibility issues earlier—before anything reaches production.
By integrating Axe DevTools for Web, the team can now identify and fix issues early, testing and refining designs in real time, creating smoother workflows, and improving accessibility across the site. Additionally, the level of insight and guidance provided by the Axe Auditor dashboard helped the team understand exactly where they stood and what they needed to improve.
A demonstrated commitment to inclusion
As accessibility became more deeply embedded across teams, Blue Bottle published its accessibility statement, outlining its approach and ongoing commitment to digital accessibility. The process helped align teams and integrate accessibility more consistently into development practices.
Measurable progress and lasting impact
In just four months, Blue Bottle achieved an 87% reduction in accessibility issues and restructured its workflows to bring accessibility into the design and development process earlier.
The result has been greater internal confidence, smoother collaboration between design and engineering teams, and more consistent accessibility practices. Through its work with Deque, the Blue Bottle team now has the right tools, knowledge, and confidence to continue expanding their accessibility efforts.
Looking ahead
Blue Bottle plans to expand its accessibility program to mobile platforms and continue embedding inclusive practices across all digital experiences. With a clear structure, measurable progress, and strong internal advocates, accessibility has become a sustainable part of Blue Bottle’s digital development practices.
A lasting culture of accessibility
For Blue Bottle, accessibility is not treated solely as a compliance requirement, but as an ongoing part of how it designs and develops digital experiences. Through its work with Deque, Blue Bottle established a more structured approach to accessibility, supported by training through Deque University, proactive testing using Axe DevTools, and a public accessibility statement. This work has enabled the team to integrate accessibility more consistently into its development process.
