Adhese
Adhese is a Belgian adtech company that provides a privacy-first, modular omnichannel advertising platform serving European retailers, publishers, advertisers, and media agencies with cookieless targeting, integrated ad serving, and retail media capabilities across onsite, offsite, DOOH, and in-store channels.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersGentbrugge, Belgium
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Adhese does
Adhese is a Belgian adtech company headquartered in Ghentbrugge, founded in 1999/2000, that operates a privacy-first, modular advertising technology platform. The core platform integrates an ad server, inventory management, targeting, campaign management, insights, direct and programmatic buying, offsite and extended reach, digital out-of-home (DOOH), sponsored products and display, a self-service portal, data clean rooms, and retail-media-as-a-service modules into a single omnichannel system designed for onsite, in-app, offsite, and in-store media delivery. The technology emphasizes cookieless targeting using server-side rendering, first-party data, and data clean room partnerships, explicitly engineered in line with European privacy regulations.
The company serves four primary customer segments: retailers and media owners seeking to monetize audiences, publishers needing consent-based advertising infrastructure, advertisers looking for cookieless targeting capabilities, and media agencies streamlining operations. Named enterprise customers include European grocery and retail groups such as Colruyt Group, AH Retail Media (Ahold Delhaize), Salling Group, Netto, Etos, Bilka, BR, and Mediahuis, alongside logistics provider PostNL, pharmaceutical retailer Newpharma, and consumer-goods advertisers such as Nestle.
Adhese generates revenue through platform licensing and subscription fees, fully managed retail media services, and advertising technology services sold via quote-based annual contracts. Distribution runs through direct enterprise field sales, a self-service platform, and channel partnerships including ADvendio (technology integration) and Uncommon Media (APAC channel partner). In 2022, Ahold Delhaize acquired a minority equity stake while Adhese retained independent platform status. The company is expanding geographically into APAC (via Uncommon Media) and the Middle East and North Africa (via a recently appointed Commercial Director), and is broadening its vertical reach beyond grocery into logistics, pharmaceutical, and media.
Adhese firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Adhese
- Legal name
- Adhese
- Website
- https://adhese.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Adhese is a Belgian adtech company that provides a privacy-first, modular omnichannel advertising platform serving European retailers, publishers, advertisers, and media agencies with cookieless targeting, integrated ad serving, and retail media capabilities across onsite, offsite, DOOH, and in-store channels.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Adhese industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Advertising Technology (Adtech)
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (54181), Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (54185), Media Buying Agencies (541830)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Programmatic Display & Retargeting (DSP) (MPAAACAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Out-of-Home (OOH), DOOH & Ambient Advertising (BPAFAAAI), Performance Marketing Automation & Bid Management Services (MPAAACAM)
Keywords
Where Adhese is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gentbrugge
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Adhese business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Platform Licensing/Subscription: Adhese provides its adtech platform to retailers, publishers, and media owners on a licensing or subscription basis. The modular platform adapts to business model and maturity levels.
- Retail Media Services: Retail media as a service providing fully managed retail media approach for media owners looking to monetise their audience, data, and touch points.
- Advertising Technology Services: Integrated ad server and campaign management services for delivering ads across omnichannel environments including onsite, in-app, offsite, and in-store media.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Flexible modular pricing based on business maturity and requirements |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Adhese product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Adhese provides a modular, privacy-first adtech platform that enables retailers, publishers, and advertisers to run omnichannel advertising campaigns across onsite, in-app, offsite, and in-store channels. The platform combines an ad server, campaign management, cookieless targeting, data clean room integrations, DOOH, sponsored products, and self-service capabilities to monetise audiences and media touchpoints.
Product overview
Adhese is a flexible, modular adtech platform built as a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core Adhese Platform serves as the central hub, with integrated modules including Ad Serving, Inventory Management, Targeting, Campaign Manager, Insights, Direct & Programmatic, Offsite & Extended Reach, Digital Out of Home (DOOH), Sponsored Products & Display, Self-Service Platform, Data Clean Room, Retail Media as a Service, and Commerce Media. These modules are designed to work together as a unified system, enabling retailers, publishers, and advertisers to manage omnichannel advertising across onsite, in-app, offsite, and in-store channels. The platform is marketed under sub-brands for different market segments: Retail Media Solutions for media owners, Publisher Solutions for publishers, and Advertiser Solutions for advertisers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Adhese Platform
- Ad Serving
- Inventory Management
- Targeting
- Campaign Manager
- Insights
- Direct & Programmatic
- Offsite & Extended Reach
- Digital Out of Home (DOOH)
- Sponsored Products & Display
- Self-Service Platform
- Retail Media as a Service
- Commerce Media
- Retail Media Solutions
- Publisher Solutions
- Advertiser Solutions
Quantifiable outcome
- Buyers can save up to 45% by using direct connections that shorten the advertising chain.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Adhese
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Adhese technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability2 records
Feature9 records
Adhese partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Colruyt Group Retail Media ServicescoreColruyt Group Retail Media Services partnered with Adhese to scale up and professionalize its retail media activities. The partnership enables Colruyt to develop an omnichannel retail media offering connecting brands with shoppers across in-store, near-store, website, and other touchpoints, supported by Adhese's technology infrastructure, onboarding, and training.
- Salling GroupcoreSalling Group is accelerating retail media rollout using Adhese's platform capabilities for omnichannel retail media operations.
- PostNLmajorStrategic partnership between Adhese and PostNL launched to support PostNL's retail media operations and omnichannel capabilities.
- ADvendiomajorAdhese and ADvendio partner to deliver end-to-end retail media solutions, combining Adhese's adtech platform with ADvendio's capabilities.
- Uncommon MediamajorUncommon Media launches retail media platform Adhese across APAC region, expanding Adhese's geographic reach through a distribution partnership.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Adhese competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Criteo: Global retail media and commerce media platform serving advertisers and retailers with personalized ad targeting and retargeting. Directly comparable to Adhese on retail media and cookieless retargeting, but at much larger scale and broader geographic reach.
- Pubmatic: Public supply-side platform offering programmatic ad monetization for publishers and media owners. Comparable to Adhese on ad serving, programmatic direct deals, and publisher monetization, though at significantly larger scale and more publisher-focused.
- Google Ad Manager: Dominant global ad server and programmatic exchange operated by Google. Sets the baseline competition for any independent ad server like Adhese, particularly on programmatic direct, inventory management, and omnichannel capabilities.
Direct peers
- Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer): Independent adtech platform providing ad serving, programmatic direct, and omnichannel campaign management for publishers and media owners. Closest direct competitor to Adhese on ad server, direct/programmatic, and modular omnichannel architecture for European publishers and retailers.
- Kevel: API-first ad serving and retail media infrastructure platform enabling retailers and marketplaces to build custom ad platforms. Directly comparable on retail media infrastructure, modular API architecture, and cookieless-first positioning.
- CitrusAd (by Epsilon): Retail media platform owned by Epsilon/Publicis, enabling grocers and retailers to monetize onsite, offsite and in-store sponsored product ads. Direct competitor in the European retail media adtech layer that Adhese targets.
- Hivestack: Programmatic DOOH adtech platform connecting advertisers with digital out-of-home inventory through SSP/DSP integrations. Direct competitor to Adhese's DOOH module with deeper specialization in programmatic out-of-home.
Emerging players
- Vue.ai: Retail-focused AI platform with retail media and personalization capabilities. Partial overlap on retailer monetization and targeting technology, though broader scope into merchandising and personalization.
- Onetag: European programmatic adtech company providing SSP, curation, and cookieless targeting solutions. Comparable on cookieless targeting and European publisher monetization, with overlapping positioning on privacy-first adtech.
Others
- ADvendio: Ad operations and order management platform built on Salesforce for media companies and retail media networks. Listed as a strategic technology partner of Adhese, making it a comparable/complementary platform in the retail media tooling stack.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses2 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Adhese social profiles
Digital presenceAdhese financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Adhese leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Adhese funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Adhese M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Adhese
What does Adhese do?
Adhese provides a modular, privacy-first adtech platform that enables retailers, publishers, and advertisers to run omnichannel advertising campaigns across onsite, in-app, offsite, and in-store channels. The platform combines an ad server, campaign management, cookieless targeting, data clean room integrations, DOOH, sponsored products, and self-service capabilities to monetise audiences and media touchpoints.
Is Adhese a public or private company?
Adhese is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Adhese founded?
Adhese was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Adhese based?
Adhese is headquartered in Gentbrugge, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does Adhese make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Platform Licensing/Subscription is the primary driver. The others are retail Media Services and advertising Technology Services.
Who are Adhese's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Criteo, Pubmatic and Google Ad Manager. Direct peers are Equativ (formerly Smart AdServer), Kevel, CitrusAd (by Epsilon) and Hivestack. Emerging players are Vue.ai and Onetag. ADvendio is listed as an others.
Does Adhese have an API?
No public API is recorded for Adhese.
What industry is Adhese in?
Adhese's product category is Advertising Technology (Adtech). Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAACAE, Programmatic Display & Retargeting (DSP), with a secondary code of BPAFAAAI, Out-of-Home (OOH), DOOH & Ambient Advertising. Its NAICS code is 54181 and its SIC code is 7310.