Pollen

What Pollen does

Pollen is a Singapore-headquartered B2B platform providing controlled excess inventory recovery services and AI-powered liquidation management for FMCG brands. Founded in 2018 by David Ng (CEO) and Liyana Sulaiman (CPTO), the company operates across Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines) and India through regional subsidiaries and serves 100+ FMCG brands. Disclosed customers include Unilever and the L'Oréal group (La Roche-Posay, Lancôme, Garnier, Maybelline, CeraVe). The company reports over 1 billion cumulative units transacted and 432,000 kilograms of goods diverted from landfill in the past year.

The platform is built around a multi-agent AI architecture: a master agent called Lily orchestrates three specialist agents—Dahlia (demand forecasting and urgency scoring), Fern (pricing governance and floor logic), and Sage (sales automation and channel execution). These agents operate on 19 automations (out of 60+ planned) at launch and draw on the proprietary Pollen SLOB Index (PSI), a benchmark built on 1B+ real FMCG trade data points with 60+ attributes tracked per SKU and updated daily. A Compliance Ledger records KYC, distribution declarations, channel waivers, quantity caps, and approval trails for every transaction, supporting defensibility across supply, finance, brand, and audit review. The platform is delivered as a cloud-based Liquidation Management System (LMS) with ERP integrations available at the Enterprise tier.

Pollen monetizes through a tiered SaaS model (a freemium Free tier with up to 100 AI prompts and a custom-priced Enterprise tier) plus transaction-based marketplace commissions via Pollen Direct, a B2B marketplace that connects verified resellers and distributors to brand-authentic excess inventory at 60-90% below retail, with up to 98% maximum discount. GTM combines product-led growth on the free tier with enterprise field sales for high-volume brands. The company won the SME Impact Enterprise Excellence Award at the Business Times & UOB Sustainability Impact Awards 2025 and was an OCBC Emerging Enterprise Sustainability Award finalist in 2024. Operations are founder-led with limited disclosed external funding to date.

Name

Pollen

Legal name

Pollen Tech Pte Ltd

Website

https://pollen.tech

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pollen provides a controlled excess-inventory recovery platform for FMCG brands across Southeast Asia and India, combining a multi-agent AI system with a B2B marketplace and proprietary data index, serving 100+ brands including Unilever and L'Oréal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Platform Subscription (Free Tier): Free tier providing up to 100 prompts across AI agents, unlimited LMS and Pollen SLOB Index access. Serves as entry point for brand acquisition and product-led growth.
2. Enterprise Platform Subscription: Custom-priced enterprise tier with unlimited prompts across all AI agents, unlimited LMS and PSI access, and ERP integrations available on request. Billed based on volume and enterprise requirements.
3. Marketplace Transaction Fees: Pollen Direct B2B marketplace connects verified buyers with excess inventory. Platform facilitates transactions between FMCG brands (like Unilever, L'Oréal) and resellers/distributors, earning commissions on completed sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pollen operates a controlled excess inventory recovery platform for FMCG brands, anchored by Lily AI, a multi-agent AI orchestration system that coordinates specialist agents (Dahlia for demand forecasting, Fern for pricing governance, and Sage for sales automation) to recover value from excess stock. The platform combines the Liquidation Management System, the proprietary Pollen SLOB Index benchmark built on 1B+ real FMCG trade data points, and the Pollen Direct B2B marketplace to help brands recover margin from excess, slow-moving, or near-expiry inventory while protecting brand equity and maintaining full audit trails.

Product overview

Pollen is a controlled excess inventory recovery platform for FMCG brands, consisting of a multi-agent AI system built around the Lily AI orchestration platform. The core offering includes four specialized AI agents: Dahlia (demand forecasting), Fern (pricing governance), and Sage (sales automation), all powered by the proprietary Pollen SLOB Index (PSI) benchmark built on 1B+ real FMCG trade data points. The platform is complemented by the Liquidation Management System (LMS) for inventory management and Pollen Direct, a B2B marketplace for verified buyers. Access is managed through Pollen Pass, a membership system with company and individual tiers. The system operates across Southeast Asia and India with 8 years of recovery operations data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lily AI: Enterprise AI platform for controlled excess inventory recovery. The master agent that orchestrates recovery workflows including inventory preparation, demand scoring, pricing governance, and sales automation.
• Dahlia
• Fern
• Sage
• Pollen Direct
• Pollen Pass
• Pollen SLOB Index (PSI)

Products and services

• Lily AI Master AI orchestration platform for controlled excess inventory recovery. Acts as the unified interface for inventory prep, chat-based interaction, approvals, channel logic, and audit history. Coordinates specialist agents (Dahlia, Fern, Sage) and assembles approval-ready recovery plans with channel rules and pricing logic. Built for enterprise FMCG brands.
• Pollen SLOB Index (PSI) Benchmark index for excess inventory akin to a market index for slow-moving and obsolete stock. Tracks what brands actually recover for unsold stock across Southeast Asia and India, providing real-time insights into discounting trends and liquidation activity. Built on 1B+ real FMCG trade data points with 60+ product attributes tracked per SKU, updated daily.
• Liquidation Management System (LMS) All-in-one platform for brands seeking to sell excess and obsolete inventory. Enables inventory listing, AI-powered demand predictions, pricing recommendations, sales assistance, and complete post-sale documentation and audit trails.
• Pollen Direct B2B liquidation marketplace connecting verified resellers and distributors to excess inventory from FMCG brands at liquidation prices (60-90% below retail, up to 98% off) with full chain-of-custody documentation. Operates as a white-label sales channel for brands including Unilever, L'Oréal, Lancôme, Garnier, Maybelline, and CeraVe. Buyer approval within 24-48 hours.
• Pollen Pass Proprietary membership system integrated into the Liquidation Management System. Provides access to LMS, Pollen SLOB Index, and AI assistants (Lily, Dahlia, Fern, Sage). Available at both company and individual levels for team coordination with customizable access levels. Free tier offers up to 100 prompts; enterprise tier offers unlimited prompts with ERP integrations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Grey market pricing at 30-50% below retail prevented through controlled channel allocation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 500 GlobalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 February 2023Pollen participated in 500 Global's Accelerate Aichi program in 2023, an accelerator program supporting startup growth in the Aichi region. This partnership provided mentorship and growth support for the company during its early expansion phase.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• B-Stock Solutions: B-Stock operates the world's largest B2B liquidation marketplace connecting enterprise retailers and manufacturers with verified buyers for excess inventory. Directly comparable to Pollen Direct in marketplace model, buyer verification process, and enterprise seller focus, though B-Stock is US-centric and broader across retail verticals.
• Liquidity Services: Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT) runs a B2B marketplace for surplus and returned merchandise from government, commercial, and retail clients. Highly comparable marketplace dynamics, KYC-verified buyer base, and controlled-channel recovery model that Pollen Direct emulates at regional scale in FMCG.
• BoxFox: BoxFox is a B2B platform for retailers and brands to liquidate excess inventory via time-bound private marketplaces. Directly comparable in B2B excess inventory liquidation with controlled buyer access, though BoxFox focuses primarily on US retail and apparel versus Pollen's FMCG focus in SEA/India.
• RangeMe: RangeMe is a B2B product discovery and wholesale platform used by FMCG brands to reach retail buyers. Comparable in serving the same FMCG brand and retail buyer segments that Pollen serves, with a focus on product discovery and category management rather than excess recovery specifically.
• Bulq: Bulq sells bulk liquidation inventory (pallets and truckloads) from major retailers through a B2B wholesale marketplace. Comparable in buyer-verified excess inventory marketplace model, though Bulq emphasizes US retail returns and pallets rather than FMCG controlled channels.

Emerging players

• Optoro: Optoro provides returns and excess inventory management software with intelligent routing decisions for retailers. Comparable in applying technology (decisioning/routing) to the excess inventory problem, with more focus on returns management and US retail rather than FMCG/SEA focus.

Broad incumbents

• SAP: SAP provides ERP and supply chain management software used by global FMCG enterprises for inventory, finance, and operations. A broad incumbent whose extended warehouse management and supply chain solutions overlap with Pollen's enterprise inventory and audit-trail use cases at much larger scale.
• Blue Yonder: Blue Yonder (formerly JDA) is a leading supply chain planning and execution platform serving large FMCG and retail enterprises. Comparable as a broad incumbent that could expand into excess inventory optimization, competing with Pollen's demand forecasting and channel allocation capabilities at enterprise scale.
• Faire: Faire operates a major B2B wholesale marketplace connecting brands with retailers globally. Comparable in two-sided marketplace dynamics, brand and buyer onboarding, and controlled pricing, but focused on indie brands and retail replenishment rather than controlled excess inventory liquidation.

Regional players

• Ankorstore: Ankorstore is a European B2B wholesale marketplace connecting brands with independent retailers. Comparable two-sided marketplace model for FMCG/CPG brands selling to verified buyers, but operates primarily in Europe versus Pollen's SEA/India footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pollen-liquidation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pollen