LONDON, UK – AUGUST 01, 2023 – Odore, the customer engagement platform empowering direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands to streamline their marketing efforts, today announces its $5 million Seed round led by Fuel Ventures with participation from existing investors.

The escalating changes within the advertising industry, with rising costs of social media advertising and shifts in privacy laws, have rendered customer retargeting increasingly challenging and expensive. Meanwhile, Facebook and TikTok’s Cost Per Thousand Impression (CPM) rates surged last year by 89% and 92%, underscoring the need for innovative strategies to efficiently navigate the landscape. 

Odore has made its mark by offering a diverse product suite that enables brands to create engaging online experiences, centralise operations, cultivate customer bases, and integrate physical and digital marketing efforts through unique solutions like product sampling, metaverse campaigns and cross channel digital activations. These innovative campaigns use consumer touchpoints to collect zero party data, enabling brands to be in control of their retargeting and customer engagement. 

The platform’s Design Studio empowers brands to create attractive online experiences (e.g landing pages and emails) via a user-friendly drag and drop builder. An Integration Hub offers connections with several social channels, publishers, and retailers, reducing data fragmentation and centralising operations. Advanced CRM solutions equip brands with tools for nurturing and retargeting customers, fostering robust brand-customer relationships and enhancing customer lifetime value. 

Odore already counts the entire L’Oreal Group (including the likes of Armani, Lancome, YSL, etc.), Dior, LVMH, Shiseido, and others among its clients. The platform’s intuitive design and reduced agency dependency have led to a tenfold decrease in campaign deployment costs, a 24% increase in customer lifetime value, and marketing opt-in rates exceeding 90% (3x industry average). 

With a broad approach that caters to large-scale enterprises and smaller brands alike, and first-to-market integrations with platforms like TikTok, Odore has a unique market position. The company has seen significant growth amongst their customers, with Net Dollar Retention (NDR) rates exceeding 320% over the past year and recurring revenue increase by 3x over the past 12 months.

Odore was launched in 2020 by co-founders Armaan Mehta and Karan Gupta, both graduates of London School of Economics. 

Armaan Mehta, Cofounder Odore said:

“The challenges that today’s industry faces are complex, and we founded Odore to provide solutions that are not only comprehensive but also transform the way brands strategize, operate, and connect. This is just the beginning. With this latest funding round, we’re delighted to have Fuel Ventures on board for our next chapter as we expand our team and business globally and launch new tools to better serve our customers.”

Shiv Patel, Investment Director at Fuel Ventures said:

“From the platform experience, the robust suite of tools, and the blending of digital and physical, everything is designed specifically for the brands, resulting in a far superior experience and very high levels of continued business from world-leading brands. The rapid expansion of both Odore’s geographic footprint, as well as its financial traction, makes us really excited to see what the team does next.”

About Odore:

Odore is the preferred customer engagement platform for leading D2C brands. It drives brand effectiveness in customer acquisition and engagement across various online channels. Integrating data analytics with superior UX, Odore is revolutionising brand-customer interactions, making them more personalised, meaningful, and impactful. The Odore platform offers a range of products that enable brands to create engaging online experiences, centralise operations, and bridge physical and digital marketing efforts with innovative solutions like product sampling and metaverse campaigns. The company was first backed by leading investors including Reece Chowdhry from Concept Ventures.