Streetbees Raises $39M Series B Funding - Consumer Insights

Streetbees initially launched as an application enabling users to earn rewards by photographing supermarket product arrangements. Companies in the consumer packaged goods sector were interested in verifying actual shelf placement of their products. The company rapidly evolved, recognizing its potential to gather direct consumer feedback regarding brand perception, effectively transforming the app into a novel method for monitoring consumer opinions. The recent global pandemic has further increased the demand for tools like this, allowing brands to understand consumer sentiment while people spend more time at home.

The company today announced a £30 million Series B funding round to further develop its survey capabilities. Currently, it boasts a network of 3.5 million consumers who share their feelings and contextual experiences “in the moment” as they interact with brands through the app, receiving modest compensation for their contributions. Streetbees emphasizes that, given the majority of purchasing decisions occur offline, its platform offers a distinctive approach to making offline consumer activity observable and analyzable.

This funding round was spearheaded by Lakestar, with additional investment from Latitude, Atomico, GMG Ventures, and Octopus Ventures. Eight of the world’s ten largest consumer goods corporations – including names like PepsiCo, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble – are now utilizing Streetbees, operating within a market valued at approximately £300 billion.

Tugce Bulut, CEO of Streetbees, stated: “Streetbees is developing a pioneering human intelligence platform, built upon a unique and exclusive dataset designed to catalog offline consumer experiences expressed in their own words. This funding will enable us to accelerate the creation of a searchable environment where brands can finally understand consumer behavior and uncover the underlying motivations behind their choices.”

Christoph Schuh, a partner at Lakestar, commented: “We are delighted to lead this Series B round and support Streetbees as it continues to grow. The customer research sector is largely dominated by established panel providers with limited innovation. Streetbees provides a novel, continuous method for engaging with customers on a global scale, allowing for swift and precise understanding of their changing requirements and behaviors. The current global uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of a real-time product suite that converts raw data into valuable customer intelligence and practical insights.”

George Henry, general partner at LocalGlobe/ Latitude, noted: “Similar to how Bloomberg has become the standard platform for professionals needing current financial market data, we believe Streetbees will become the leading market research platform for brands requiring real-time access to evolving consumer trends.”

Alan Hudson, managing partner at GMG Ventures LLP, an investor in this round, explained: “In today’s business climate, brands increasingly require large-scale access to qualitative, quantitative, real-time, and realistic consumer insights. Streetbees’ global network of active consumers and its AI-driven platform deliver these insights, informing client decisions at both strategic and operational levels.”