Introduction 

The Coresight Research team will attend and participate in this year’s Groceryshop conference, which will be held on September 19–22, 2022, in Las Vegas, US. Groceryshop 2022 will explore the changing grocery landscape and help businesses navigate the rapid rise in e-commerce, the latest business models and technologies, and the shifting consumer behaviors that are impacting the industry.

On September 19, 2022, Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, will emcee and feature on the judging panel of Groceryshop 2022’s “Shark Reef” startup pitch competition, which will see 12 early-stage innovators compete to win the Judges’ Choice and Audience Choice awards. In the lead-up to the event, we are profiling the participating innovators. 

This report forms part of our Innovator Profile series, which focuses on emerging technologies that are disrupting traditional retail and fueling innovation across the retail value chain. We present Promio.io, developer of a sales communication platform for consumer brands and retailers. Coresight Research collaborated with Promio.io to offer insights into its capabilities and offerings.

Areas of Innovation

Coresight Research categorizes the 12 participating innovators into three areas of innovation in retail: fulfillment and sustainability; product marketing and merchandising; and AI, ML and automation. Promio.io falls under “AI, ML and automation.”

Advances in AI and ML are enabling the technologies to be applied to a variety of retail operations, such as marketing and pricing. Technology innovators focused on AI, ML and automation can help brands and retailers reduce costs, improve efficiency and convenience, enhance personalization and more.

Promio.io: in Detail

Headquarters 

San Francisco, California, US 

Funding Stage 

Seed stage

Total funding raised: $1.3 million 

Company Description

Founded in 2018, Promio.io offers a sales communication platform that enables CPG (consumer packaged goods) sales teams to manage customer offers and promotions quickly and easily by category across various channels—including independent grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, food banks and more—all from one app.

Through the Promio.io platform, retailers can communicate with their customers about offers, promotions, new item intorductions, events, excess inventory, available shelf and floor space, and more. The company’s offering aims to help brands boost trade promotion management to drive sales lifts and enhance sales communication efficiency. Promio.io also supports negotiation and contracting through its app, in addition to reporting and real-time management of marketing strategies.

What Problem Is the Company Solving?

For many CPG brands, the complexity of managing multiple channels of communication with different customers to promote a variety of products and sales campaigns presents challenges. While CPGs are currently leveraging trade promotion management (TPMs) and revenue growth management (RGM) platforms, communication of results is currently manually communicated through emails and portals, reducing operational efficiency. Through Promio.io’s solution, brands can manage and streamline their sales promotions and communications with customers from one platform while also receiving insights into the target consumer and the effectiveness of their strategy.

For retailers, communication with brands and vendors is often slow, even for time-sensitive information such as excess shelf and floor space in stores and limited-time product promotions from the brand. Retailers can communicate with brands on the Promio.io app to see, negotiate and contract product deals and placements efficiently.

Market Opportunity

The current state of sales and sales communication between CPG brands and customers is slow, expensive and poses a threat to deal flow and customer engagement. This presents an opportunity for brands to work with retail-technology companies to streamline the sales process and reduce the status quo of emails, spreadsheets and portals that have made sales communication inefficient.

By eliminating the need to manage thousands of promotions and SKUs across different channels through streamlining the sales communication process, brands and retailers can increase the efficiency and productivity of their sales teams.

What We Think

Brands and retailers should maximize collaboration and communication to create synergies that help both parties with key issues—brands with product marketing and promotion, and retailers with securing promotions and product placements.

Brands and retailers can work with technology providers to support collaboration and timely decision making for product placements, promotions and marketing strategies.