Swish, an innovator in the realm of programmatic product trials, has successfully closed a seed funding round. BD Ventures led this investment, with participation from a carefully selected group of strategic investors who have deep expertise in retail technology and shopper marketing. The funding round was led by BD Ventures, a firm co-founded by Jonathan Opdyke and Roger Ehrenberg, which focuses its investments on promising consumer brands and the enabling technologies that support them.
The additional investors who participated in this deal represent a distinguished roster of innovators in retail media and consumer packaged goods technology. This esteemed group includes Jordan Berke, CEO and founder of TOMORROW and former head of Walmart China ecommerce; Scott Friend, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures and an investor in prominent companies like HookLogic, Jet.com, Wonder, Mirakl, and Attentive; Anil Aggarwal, CEO and founder of the influential ShopTalk, Groceryshop, and Retail Club conferences; Mathieu Azorin, CEO and co-founder of Storetail, which Criteo acquired; and Al Muzaurieta, President and founder of the digital media agency Good Apple. Plus, several former executives from HookLogic and Citrus Ad have also lent their support, alongside continued backing from pre-seed investors ID Ventures and MI Rise Pre-Seed Fund.
The core vision behind Swish is to fundamentally change how consumers discover new products by offering full-sized, in-stock consumer packaged goods as samples, delivered directly through their routine grocery shopping experiences. And at the center of Swish’s innovative approach is its proprietary artificial intelligence platform. This advanced technology leverages real transactional data to precisely determine product relevancy and create a highly personalized experience for each shopper. The platform seamlessly integrates free products into first-party grocery orders, regardless of whether customers choose pickup or home delivery.
This method enables brands to achieve valuable, closed-loop results from their trial investments by diligently measuring future purchase behavior. By meticulously eliminating the traditional expenses and inefficiencies associated with conventional sampling methods, Swish is transforming product discovery into a smooth and anticipated part of the overall shopping journey.
Jonathan Opdyke is widely recognized for his role as co-founder and CEO of HookLogic. This company pioneered the retail media industry with its sponsored products platform, which Criteo eventually acquired. More recently, he led the seed round and provided crucial guidance to the retail media platform Symbiosys, which DoorDash subsequently acquired. Roger Ehrenberg, on the other hand, founded IA Ventures. This highly successful seed-stage venture capital firm has made impactful early investments in companies such as The Trade Desk, DataDog, Digital Ocean, and Wise, in addition to earlier investments in marketing companies like Buddy Media and Invite Media.
Swish empowers both retailers and brands to significantly boost household penetration, encourage category adoption, and foster enduring customer loyalty by transforming full-size product trials into a measurable and powerful growth engine. In contrast to conventional sampling strategies, Swish’s proprietary AI engine meticulously targets households that are most likely to convert into loyal customers. This intelligent targeting captures new-to-brand purchases within a matter of days and meticulously tracks repeat sales well beyond the initial trial period. Early pilot programs with retailers, including Stater Brothers, have clearly demonstrated the remarkable speed with which this model drives incremental penetration, enhances product velocity, and increases customer lifetime value.
Every single trial facilitated by Swish is recorded as a full sale for the retailer, integrates seamlessly into the shopper’s purchase history, and actively encourages future “buy again” behavior while simultaneously strengthening retail media algorithms. Swish views a product not merely as a sample, but as a dynamic catalyst for integrated marketing campaigns that are designed to cultivate long-term customer loyalty. Engineered as a headless solution, Swish offers retailers a straightforward path to implementation, whether through integration partners like Upshop or directly within their existing ecommerce technology infrastructure.
KEY QUOTES:
“Ultimately, brands want customers to try and then buy their products. Demos and mailers are expensive and hard to measure, while digital media continues to fall short. Swish treats the product itself as media—placed directly into baskets, at the right time, for the right people. We offer a massive unlock for retailers and brands looking for measurable performance in product trial.”
Adam Stave, CEO and co-founder of Swish
“Product trial is the fundamental goal of all consumer-packaged goods marketing. Shoppers don’t truly become customers until they actually consume or use the product and decide to buy again. Adam and the Swish team are reinventing this equation for digital commerce, creating a true win-win-win for brands, retailers, and consumers. We believe this could fundamentally change how CPG brands go to market.”
Jonathan Opdyke, Managing Partner of BD Ventures
“Swish was built to solve the real challenges we hear every day from retailers and brands. Retailers need profitable ecommerce, bigger baskets, and happier shoppers. Brands need measurable, targeted ways to win new customers and prove impact. With this seed round and the backing of experienced leaders in retail media and ecommerce, we’re ready to scale Swish to major retailers and make merchandise the next powerful form of media.”
Adam Stave, Founder & CEO of Swish
