Founded in Taiwan, 85°C Bakery Cafe has rapidly expanded into an internationally recognised brand, known for its diverse baked goods and beverages.

With over 80 locations across the United States, the company faced the complex challenge of managing security and operations at scale—especially with a lean IT team of just seven people. To keep operations running smoothly, they partnered with Vivotek, a global leader in security solutions, to deploy the AI-powered Vortex Cloud Surveillance Platform, which enhances visibility, reliability, and operational efficiency across their retail operations.

As the company expanded rapidly across the US, its fragmented legacy surveillance systems became unstable and struggled to keep up with the pace of growth resulting in operational challenges - this was causing problems with delays and additional costs. In retail, fast incident resolution is crucial to customer satisfaction. 

“Retail is not just about selling things. It’s about building trust and creating relationships,” says Ariel, IT Director, 85°C Bakery Cafe.

Centralised cloud control

The solution was to find a system built for retail efficiency with faster setup and deployment and centralised cloud control. To overcome the challenges, 85°C Bakery Cafe implemented Vortex by Vivotex, an AI-powered cloud surveillance solution designed for retail efficiency. For a small IT team managing dozens of busy stores, simplifying setup, streamlining operations, and supporting growth without overhauling infrastructure were critical.

Offering hybrid compatibility for the company, Vortex unifies over 200 legacy cameras and 150 cloud cameras onto one platform without extra replacement costs.  The centralized management enables remote access control, receives instant alerts, searches the video footage in seconds with AI technology, and simplifies incident handling.

Rapid deployment

Plug-and-play setup cuts deployment time by 50%, keeping store launches efficient and streamlined. “Setting up in each location used to take us two to three days… With Vortex plug-and-play, we’re done in just one day,” says Jason Chow, Tech Support Manager, 85°C Bakery Cafe.

Smoother operations and improved customer experience

For 85°C Bakery Cafe, Vortex made physical security operations more proactive by improving response times, reducing disruptions, and giving staff the tools to stay focused on customers, not equipment. The plug-and-play setup cut installation time by up to 50%, while cloud-based management reduced site visits and operational costs. These improvements not only lightened the technical workload and streamlined daily operations but also strengthened customer trust with faster service and reliable incident resolution.

"With Deep Search, we can find people or items in seconds. If a customer loses something, we trace it and recover it quickly," adds Nolan Carter, Facilities Manager, 85°C Bakery Cafe.

"Vortex helps us prevent disputes and track items that go missing. It keeps the entire store running smoothly. When stores run better, customers stay longer and they come back more often," concludes Ariel, IT Director, 85°C Bakery Cafe.