6 apps. 1 codebase. From low ratings to mobile market leader.

Intergamma is the parent company of GAMMA Netherlands, GAMMA Belgium, and Karwei, together accounting for nearly 400 stores and more than 10,000 employees. As the Benelux market leader in DIY retail, they had everything in order online and offline. On mobile, that was a different story: existing apps were rated poorly, the codebase was fragmented, and there was no coherent strategy for how the app could guide a customer through an entire project.

The challenge was multilayered. Three brands, each with their own proposition, visual identity, and target audience, but with a shared need for a technical foundation that simplifies maintenance and accelerates development, across both iOS and Android.

Elements was asked to develop the full mobile strategy, rebuild the apps from the ground up, and set up the development environment for the long term.

A mobile strategy built around the DIY journey

Together with Soda Studio, we developed a mobile strategy grounded in user research: interviews, in-store visits, and mapping out the full range of DIY activities. The result was a six-step user journey, from initial project idea through to completion. That journey forms the backbone of both apps and drives which features surface at each stage.

One technical foundation for three brands, six apps

We rebuilt all apps in React Native with a shared codebase for GAMMA NL, GAMMA BE, and Karwei. Feature flags allow functionality to be toggled per brand without touching the core. An extensive Figma design system, built with Soda, ensures each brand retains its own visual identity while designers and developers work from a single source of truth.

CI/CD set up for fast, quality-controlled releases

Beyond the apps, we set up the full mobile development environment: GitHub, CircleCI, and Fastlane for automated building, testing, and releasing. Every update is preceded by user testing with Milkshake Research, so releases are grounded in real behaviour, not assumptions.

Why React Native, and why one shared codebase?

Three brands, two platforms, continuous development: a native approach would have tripled the maintenance burden with no visible difference to the user. React Native delivered the performance and native feel needed, with the efficiency of a shared core.

The harder question was how to deliver three brands with distinct identities from one codebase without compromise. The answer is in the architecture: a solid shared core for navigation, data flow, analytics, and error handling, combined with feature flags per brand and a design token system. Each brand keeps its look and feel. One team maintains one codebase.

Intergamma works with multiple external partners: Soda Studio for design, Milkshake Research for user research, Resoluut and Mr. Koreander for additional expertise. Elements acted as technical director: architecture decisions, coordination across parties, and full ownership of the build and development environment. After MVP launch, we stayed on to add features, analyse usage, triage reviews, and validate every update with user testing before release.

Feature flags allow new functionality to roll out per brand, per country, or per user group without touching the core. The next step is deeper personalisation based on project history and purchase behaviour, making the app more relevant with every use.