How long did it take to build the site?

About four months. We kicked off on January 8, 2026 and launched on May 15, 2026, including design, development, compliance setup, and getting both the consumer and wholesale sides ready at the same time.

How do you keep flavored pouches from shipping to states where they're banned?

We built custom shipping restrictions directly into the store. Flavored pouches are automatically blocked from shipping to California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, and all sales to Alaska and Washington, D.C. are blocked entirely. The rules apply at checkout, so no one on NuBz's end has to catch it manually.

How does the site verify that customers are old enough?

Visitors have to confirm they're 21 or older through an age verification gate before they can enter the site. On top of that, a nicotine warning banner stays visible at all times, and FDA and Prop 65 warnings appear in the footer.

Can a retailer apply to sell NuBz in their own store?

Yes. We built a wholesale application right into the site, so a shop interested in carrying NuBz can apply in a few minutes without any back-and-forth to get started.

Why build on BigCommerce?

BigCommerce gave NuBz a modern, customizable platform that performs well and is straightforward for their team to manage. It also leaves plenty of room to grow, whether that's adding flavors, expanding strengths, or scaling the dealer network, without needing to rebuild the site.

Can NuBz manage the site themselves?

Yes. The backend is set up so Narek's team can add products, update content, and run the store day to day on their own.

NuBz Pouches BigCommerce Case Study

Name: User
Item: MAK Digital
Rating: 5
Author: Brett Wood

Sports Accessories | Launched 04/04/2026

NuBz came to MAK Digital with a product and an ambition, but no store, no brand presence, and no roadmap for selling a nicotine product legally across 50 different state rulebooks. As a brand-new company entering the fast-growing nicotine pouch market, they needed a partner to build their first website and guide them through the operational maze of shipping rules, age restrictions, and compliance that comes with a regulated product. Over four months, MAK Digital designed and built a premium BigCommerce store that sells direct to consumers, recruits wholesale dealers, and enforces state-by-state restrictions automatically. NuBz launched on May 15, 2026 as a polished, credible brand ready to compete.

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The Situation

NuBz is a brand-new company entering one of the fastest-growing segments in the nicotine market. They make pharma-grade synthetic, tobacco-free pouches manufactured in the USA, available in three flavors and three strengths. What they didn't have was everything else: no website, no brand identity online, and no infrastructure for actually selling a regulated product to customers across the country. Owner Narek didn't just need a developer to build a store, he needed an agency partner who could help him understand what launching in this space requires, from shipping and tax to the state-by-state restrictions that govern where and how nicotine products can be sold.

The Core Challenge

The hardest part of this project was never the design, it was selling a regulated product legally and safely from day one. In this industry, a single misstep carries real consequences: ship a flavored can into a state that bans it, or let a minor reach the storefront, and a new company can face serious legal and financial exposure before it ever finds its footing. NuBz had no existing systems to lean on, so every safeguard had to be built into the store from the start. Nicotine sales are restricted differently in nearly every state, age verification is mandatory, and federal and state warning requirements have to appear in specific places. All of this had to be handled invisibly enough that the site still felt like a premium consumer brand, not a wall of legal disclaimers.

Additional Obstacles

NuBz also needed the site to work as two businesses at once. From launch, it had to sell directly to consumers and recruit wholesale dealers who would carry the product in their own stores, two very different audiences with different needs. On top of that, as a first-time brand, NuBz needed guidance at every step, not just answers to "how should this look," but "what do we even need to think about" when it comes to shipping logistics, tax, and compliance. The brand also had to feel genuinely premium, distancing itself from the cluttered, low-trust look common in the category.

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Our Approach

We designed and built NuBz from scratch on BigCommerce, treating premium presentation and airtight compliance as equal priorities. Every decision aimed to launch a brand that looked high-end, sold legally in every state where it's permitted, and could grow without a rebuild.

A Premium Brand Built From Scratch

NuBz wanted to feel high-end, so design led every decision rather than following the catalog.

Built a custom homepage template with generous whitespace and a clean, modern layout that signals a premium product
Used embedded product video so shoppers see each flavor in motion, not just static photos
Created a "Choose Your Strength" guide that steers newcomers through the 3mg, 6mg, and 9mg options
Carried a consistent visual identity across the full catalog of flavors and strengths

Compliance Built Into the Store

In a regulated category, compliance can't be left to chance, so we enforced it automatically.

Built custom shipping restrictions that block flavored pouches from shipping to California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey
Blocked all sales to Alaska and Washington, D.C. entirely
Added an age verification gate requiring visitors to confirm they are 21 or older before entering the site
Implemented a persistent nicotine warning banner that stays visible at all times
Placed FDA and California Prop 65 warnings in the footer and built a dedicated ingredients page for full transparency

Two Sales Channels From Day One

NuBz needed to reach individual customers and prospective retailers at the same time.

Launched a direct-to-consumer storefront with subscribe-and-save built in
Embedded a wholesale application so prospective dealers can apply to carry NuBz in minutes
Added a store locator so customers can find retailers that stock the product

Business Impact

NuBz went from nothing to a live, polished storefront that looks the part of an established brand. Where there was no online presence four months earlier, there's now a clean, premium site that sells three flavors across three strengths, accepts subscriptions, and presents NuBz as a serious player rather than a newcomer. Just as importantly, every compliance requirement is handled inside the store itself, so the brand can operate without Narek personally policing each order.

The practical result is a business that can sell with confidence. Orders automatically respect each state's rules, so a flavored can never ships somewhere it isn't allowed, and customers confirm they're of age before they ever reach a product. The wholesale application brings in dealer leads without anyone chasing them, opening the retail channel from the first day rather than months down the road. And because the site looks credible and premium, NuBz can compete for trust against brands that have been in the market for years.

NuBz now has room to grow on a platform that won't hold it back. As they add flavors, introduce new strengths, or expand their dealer network, the BigCommerce foundation supports it without another ground-up build. Narek's team can manage the store directly, which means the brand controls its own day-to-day instead of depending on a developer for every change. The site that launched NuBz is the same one built to scale it.

Ask away, we're here to help!

NuBz Pouches BigCommerce Website Design and Build: Everything You Need to Know About the nubzpouches.com site build!

How long did it take to build the site?
About four months. We kicked off on January 8, 2026 and launched on May 15, 2026, including design, development, compliance setup, and getting both the consumer and wholesale sides ready at the same time.
How do you keep flavored pouches from shipping to states where they're banned?
We built custom shipping restrictions directly into the store. Flavored pouches are automatically blocked from shipping to California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, and all sales to Alaska and Washington, D.C. are blocked entirely. The rules apply at checkout, so no one on NuBz's end has to catch it manually.
How does the site verify that customers are old enough?
Visitors have to confirm they're 21 or older through an age verification gate before they can enter the site. On top of that, a nicotine warning banner stays visible at all times, and FDA and Prop 65 warnings appear in the footer.
Can a retailer apply to sell NuBz in their own store?
Yes. We built a wholesale application right into the site, so a shop interested in carrying NuBz can apply in a few minutes without any back-and-forth to get started.
Why build on BigCommerce?
BigCommerce gave NuBz a modern, customizable platform that performs well and is straightforward for their team to manage. It also leaves plenty of room to grow, whether that's adding flavors, expanding strengths, or scaling the dealer network, without needing to rebuild the site.
Can NuBz manage the site themselves?
Yes. The backend is set up so Narek's team can add products, update content, and run the store day to day on their own.

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nubzpouches.comBigCommerce Maiden Website

The Situation

The Core Challenge

Additional Obstacles

Custom Templates + Webpages:

Services Completed:

Art Direction / Web Design

UI Design

UX Design

BigCommerce Development

BigCommerce Integrations

BigCommerce SEO Audit & Transition

Applications & Integrations:

Our Approach

A Premium Brand Built From Scratch

Compliance Built Into the Store

Two Sales Channels From Day One

Custom Features & Functionality

Business Impact

Ask away, we're here to help!

How long did it take to build the site?

How do you keep flavored pouches from shipping to states where they're banned?

How does the site verify that customers are old enough?

Can a retailer apply to sell NuBz in their own store?

Why build on BigCommerce?

Can NuBz manage the site themselves?

Let's team up and build something great together

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