Consumer insights business Vypr is planning expansion with £2.5 million of new funding.
The Manchester firm intends to move into new sectors and overseas markets with the growth capital investment backed by YFM Equity Partners (YFM) through its British Smaller Companies VCTs.
Founded in 2013 by Ben Davies, Vypr has built a cloud-based data validation platform that enables manufacturers and retailers to save time and costs on new product development by providing insight into what customers want to see on the shelves.
It combines research into behavioural science with a segmented consumer panel, allowing the client to test every aspect of product innovation, from packaging, pricing and naming to product claims and ranging.
Vypr works with leading retailers such as The Co-op Food and brands like Weetabix and Müller. The 15-strong team expanded its consumer panel into France and Germany in 2020.
It has developed a number of additional products such as an analytics tool for profiling multiple products within a given category or classification; a function which assesses consumer value perception of products and models pricing elasticity; and a brand sentiment tracker.
The investment from YFM will enable the business to grow its sales and marketing team as it builds on its strong customer base among food manufacturers, retailers and FMCG brands and moves into new vertical sectors.
Vypr will also continue to invest in product development as well as exploring further international markets, building on its European presence.
Chair of Vypr, Richard Law, an expert in data and data analytics driven disruption, commented: “With ever-increasing consumer demand for interesting products driving innovation, our clients are looking to launch fewer but more successful products as well as optimising their share of the available market.
“The Vypr platform has proved able to provide them with this valuable intelligence in less than an hour – it eliminates the need for expensive research and reduces the number of failed product launches. We’ve had phenomenal feedback from clients who say it has transformed the way they work.
“The success of Vypr is down to the vision of our founder and the world-leading team of people that we have managed to bring together. I’m confident of Vypr’s long-term strategy and its continued success.”