Swish, A Company That's Bringing Programmatic to Product Sampling, Announces Seed Funding | AdExchanger

"Swish has partnerships with retailers - including one with California-based Stater Bros. Markets - and uses a combination of OpenAI models, Azure cloud infrastructure and its own proprietary algorithms to analyze customer behavior and infer which products are most likely to appeal. The platform then adds free samples of those products to a customer's cart before checkout, hoping to drive conversions by cutting out the middleman."

"Although giving away full-size samples isn't cheap, the strategy appears to pay off. In a recent collaboration with a leading brand of cream cheese, for example, Swish gave away 3,600 containers to people who hadn't bought that brand in the previous 12 months. Around 1,100 of those customers returned and, combined, bought over 4,000 containers of cream cheese, driving increased revenue and sales for the brand and the retailer, according to Stave."

"Advertisers serve ads to try and sell products. But what if they skipped over the ad completely and instead just handed products straight to the consumer? That's the idea behind Swish, a startup that partners with retailers to provide full-size samples of CPG products to people doing their grocery shopping online. It's like an extreme form of sampling. On Friday, Swish announced $2.3 million in seed funding led by BD Ventures."

Swish adds full-size consumer packaged goods samples directly into online grocery carts before checkout, treating products as a form of media to drive conversions. The platform leverages OpenAI models, Azure cloud infrastructure and proprietary algorithms to analyze customer behavior and infer product affinity. Swish partners with retailers, including Stater Bros. Markets, and positions sampling as a direct route to increase purchase rates. The startup raised $2.3 million in seed funding led by BD Ventures. A cream cheese campaign distributed 3,600 containers to non-buyers; roughly 1,100 returned and purchased over 4,000 containers, increasing revenue for brand and retailer.

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