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Data-driven instore ​advertising for ​FMCG brands

Cyreen GmbH, a German startup established in 2017, is positioning itself at the forefront of the retail media evolution by bringing digital measurement capabilities to brick-and-mortar stores. The company was co-founded by Benedict Boos, Ciril Hofmann, Davide Scheidegger, and Herbert Boos, who conceived the initial idea. The founding team combines diverse expertise: Benedict Boos, a graduate of Maastricht University and Rotterdam School of Management with a background in auditing at KPMG, handles finances. Ciril Hofmann and Davide Scheidegger, both alumni of the University of St. Gallen with double master's degrees, lead marketing/sales and data, respectively, each having prior startup experience. This blend of financial acumen and entrepreneurial drive is central to Cyreen's strategy. The firm's core business revolves around providing advanced retail media technologies to physical retailers and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) advertisers. Cyreen makes its money by charging for the use of its proprietary, patent-protected technology, which enables brands to run measurable advertising campaigns inside stores and provides retailers with a new, data-driven revenue stream. The business model addresses a significant gap in the market: the lack of precise performance data for in-store advertising, a long-standing advantage of the online domain. Cyreen's flagship product, C.A.P. (Connecting Ad-Impressions with Purchase), is an AI-powered platform that links what shoppers see on in-store digital screens with what they ultimately buy. This is achieved through a GDPR-compliant system that can utilize technologies like RFID chips on shopping carts to anonymously track a shopper's journey past screens and correlate ad views with transaction data at checkout. The platform provides clients like Coca-Cola, Ferrero, and Nestlé with detailed analytics on campaign performance, conversion rates, and consumer behavior, reportedly increasing sales rates by up to 375%. By delivering tangible ROI metrics, C.A.P. transforms in-store advertising from a speculative expense into a measurable investment. Since its inception, Cyreen has achieved several key milestones, including securing a seven-figure financing round in 2022 from investors like BMH Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen and experienced business angels. The company also received funding and an award from the EU Commission and recently announced a significant funding round from butterfly & elephant, the investment arm of GS1 Germany, after completing the RISING accelerator program in 2024. With its technology deployed in four countries and contracts for expansion into over 230 stores, Cyreen is scaling its operations to establish a new standard in how advertising effectiveness is measured at the physical point of sale. Keywords: retail media, in-store analytics, FMCG advertising, point of sale marketing, ad impact measurement, consumer behavior analytics, shopper data, data-driven retail, C.A.P. technology, Benedict Boos, Ciril Hofmann, Davide Scheidegger, Herbert Boos, digital signage analytics, offline campaign measurement, retail technology, shopper journey tracking, GS1 Germany, butterfly & elephant, brick-and-mortar retail tech, POS advertising, retail data monetization, customer journey analytics, AI in retail