Today the Swiss startup Bring! Labs AG, which is behind the popular shopping app Bring! has closed a funding round of around €3.8 million. Yesterday we included Bring! as a startup to watch, in our list of ‘10 online supermarket startups zooming through 2020’.
Bring! was founded in Zurich in 2015, with the aim of making grocery shopping easy and fun for millions of households across Europe. Interestingly, the app does more than just show products to buy. Users can share shopping lists, get integrated recipes, find local offers and earn loyalty cards, making it more of an all-in-one inspiration, planning and purchase app. On the B2B side, the startup partners with national and international brands in the IT, retail and FMCG sectors to continuously grow their audience and bring them value. Having begun with co-founders Marco Cerqui and Sandro Strebel, their team now has 20 employees and offices in Zurich, Switzerland and Mannheim, Germany.
The fresh funds come from new investors like Swiss Post (via its venture capital department Swiss Post Ventures) and Wingman Ventures, as well as G+J Digital Ventures (the venture capital division of the Gruner + Jahr publishing group). Additionally, Dominique Locher (former CEO of the online grocery retailer LeShop.ch), joined the consortium of investors, and will support Bring! as an active advisor in the future. In addition, a number of existing investors, including Swisscom Ventures, Swiss Founders Fund and Investiere, expanded their involvement.
The Swiss company intends to use the new capital to boost its app into a personal shopping companion.They will improve service personalization for the user in the areas of shopping, menu planning, and recipe/offer integration from retail companies.
Additionally, the B2B offering for retail partners and branded goods manufacturers will to be further expanded. With new forms of advertising, for example native advertising, Bring! wants to think about new ways to address users in the exact moment, or in the immediate context of, their purchase decision.
The financing round will also support the company’s ambitious growth plans in its core markets Germany and Switzerland. The Bring! app is already used by several million people for the planning of their grocery shopping, and this number is set to double in the coming years. In addition, the startup will accelerate their entry into the French and Italian markets.
Marco Cerqui, co-founder and CEO commented on their ambitions and the investment: “Bring! is one of the world’s leading apps to help people plan their grocery shopping. The funding round will allow us to accelerate the development of our platform into the clear number one. For both retail and FMCG companies, Bring! should become an essential component of their marketing mix. We want to be an indispensable shopping companion for users, helping them to save time and money and waste less food. The fact that we were able to attract investors with the importance, reputation and experience of Gruner + Jahr or Swiss Post shows that we are on the right track”.
