What Dee Set does

Dee Set is a UK-based field marketing agency operating since 2001, delivering in-store retail execution services to major UK supermarkets (ASDA, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Tesco, Co-op) and consumer brands (3M). The company deploys a 4,000-strong field team with coverage within 10 miles of 97% of UK stores, executing 40,000 merchandising hours and capturing 60,000 in-store photos per week, supporting over £4bn in annual retail sales.

The service stack is anchored by five lines: field marketing and merchandising (professional services), AI-driven image recognition and the Actionable Data analytics platform, e-commerce fulfilment (10,000+ orders/week), 3PL distribution from a 180,000 sq ft Stoke-on-Trent facility (6,000 pallets, £24m inventory under management), and product sourcing/POS design, including proprietary brands Travels, Haber and NIFTi. Technology is primarily built on computer vision for shelf monitoring, predictive analytics for demand forecasting, and Netstock integration for inventory management.

The business operates a quote-based, multi-year enterprise contract model with direct field sales to retailers and brand owners. It is privately held as part of the Acosta Europe group (with sister companies Tactical Solutions and Reapp) and acquired White Hinge in 2018. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; scale signals suggest an estimated $100M-$250M revenue band.

Name

Dee Set

Legal name

Dee Set Logistics Ltd / Dee Set Confectionery Ltd, trading as Dee Set

Website

https://deeset.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Dee Set is a UK field marketing agency serving major retailers and brands with 4,000+ field agents, image recognition, e-commerce fulfilment, and supply chain services, supporting over £4bn in annual retail sales across ASDA, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and others.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Staffordshire Reef

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Field Marketing Services: Provides expert field marketing teams that boost brand visibility through tailored hands-on approaches. Services include POS installation, check and fix, promotional compliance auditing, temporary displays, brand experiences, and range changes. The company supports over £4bn in retail sales annually through its field marketing operations.
2. Retail Merchandising: Versatile retail merchandising solutions ensuring shelf-space maximization, optimal positioning, and product visibility. Field merchandisers are within 10 miles of 97% of UK stores, completing 40,000 merchandising hours per week.
3. E-commerce Fulfilment: End-to-end e-fulfilment services including order processing, inventory management, warehousing, pick and pack, and returns management. Capable of processing up to 10,000 unique orders per week.
4. Distribution and Warehousing: Third-party logistics (3PL) services including pallet storage, warehouse management, and distribution. Manages 180,000 sq ft facility with 6,000 pallet spaces, handling over £24 million of retailer inventory annually.
5. Product Sourcing: Comprehensive product sourcing solutions including concept development, global sourcing, supply chain management, and product ranges such as Travels, Haber, and NIFTi. Annual retail sales of £5 million with £1 million from pet toy range.
6. POS Design and Print: Point of Sale design and print solutions including FSDUs, CDUs, trays, and eco-friendly clip strips. Also includes e-commerce packaging with custom box designs and branded materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Dee Set is a UK field marketing agency operating the largest field marketing team in the UK with over 4,000 employees, deployed within 10 miles of 97% of UK stores. The company delivers in-store retail execution, merchandising, POS installation, image recognition-enabled compliance auditing, actionable retail data analytics, e-commerce fulfilment, warehousing, distribution, product sourcing, and POS design/print services to major UK retailers and consumer brands.

Product overview

Dee Set is a UK-based field marketing agency providing an integrated suite of retail execution and supply chain services. The offering operates as a platform-plus-services model combining field marketing (with over 4,000 field agents), actionable data analytics with AI-powered image recognition, and comprehensive supply chain solutions. Core services include field marketing, merchandising, image recognition technology, e-commerce fulfilment, FSDUs, order fulfilment, rework services, kitting and assembly, brand consolidation, distribution, product sourcing, POS design/print, and storage/warehousing. The company also markets proprietary product brands including Travels® (travel accessories), Haber (haberdashery), and NIFTi (pet/home/leisure products). Their 180,000 sq ft distribution centre in Stoke-on-Trent handles up to 10,000 orders per month with 42 retailer supply chain routes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Travels: Travel accessories range offering quality and value for money for rural escapes, city breaks, and overseas destinations
• Haber
• NIFTi

Products and services

• Field Marketing Field marketing strategies using a team of over 4,000 employees across the UK, providing in-store brand visibility, sampling stations, product demonstrations, and brand awareness events. Field sales agents are within 10 miles of 97% of UK stores.
• Merchandising
• Actionable Data Retail data analytics service that turns insights into real-time impact using AI and machine learning, providing descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics for retail marketing strategy.
• Image Recognition Computer vision technology that processes shelf images to identify availability issues, compliance gaps, and patterns, cross-referencing against EPOS data to enable real-time corrective actions in-store.
• e-Commerce Fulfilment End-to-end e-commerce logistics including order processing, inventory management, warehousing, pick and pack, and returns management, capable of processing up to 10,000 orders per week.
• Order Fulfilment Order processing, picking, packing, and delivery services from supplier listing through to accurate fulfilment, trusted by major UK retailers including ASDA, Sainsbury's, and Morrisons.
• FSDUs (Free-Standing Display Units) High-impact FSDU design, printing, pre-filling, dispatching, product merchandising, and replenishment visits for in-store promotional displays.
• Rework Services Packaging rework including security tagging, quality control checks, product and case labelling, POS design, print and packing, clipstrip assembly, re-packing, and gifting solutions.
• Kitting and Assembly Product assembly services including gift sets (over 300,000 annually), bundles (over 128,000 completed), Counter Display Units (CDUs), and trays.
• Brand Consolidation Service streamlining supply chain, enhancing product visibility, and driving sales through tailored onboarding, proactive stock management, efficient logistics, in-store merchandising, simplified invoicing, and comprehensive reporting.
• Distribution and Pallet Network Distribution services from a 180,000 sq ft fulfilment centre with 6,000 pallet spaces, 15 loading bays, 50,000 pick locations, serving 12 UK entities across 42 retailer supply chain routes.
• Product Sourcing Comprehensive product sourcing including concept development, product design, global sourcing and procurement, and supply chain management, with over 15 years of experience in non-food categories.
• POS Design and Print End-to-end point of sale design and print solutions including FSDUs, CDUs, trays, eco-friendly clip strips, aisle fins, barkers, and e-commerce packaging, with over 1,000,000 POS items delivered last year.
• Storage and Warehousing 3PL warehouse management with 180,000 sq ft facility in Stoke-on-Trent, capacity for up to 10,000 pallets, 24-hour security, floor-to-ceiling racking, and advanced inventory management.
• Travels® Brand Travel accessories brand offering an extensive selection of travel accessories for rural escapes, city breaks, and overseas destinations, known for quality and value for money.
• Haber Brand Cost-effective haberdashery brand within the 'Care & Repair' niche, offering a diverse array of products tailored to meet evolving demands.
• NIFTi Brand Value clip strip products brand for pets, home and leisure, embodying brightness, fun, quirkiness, and practicality, with annual retail sales of £1 million.

Quantifiable outcome

• Support over £4bn in retail sales annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• GroceryAidcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2023Dee Set became a Major Partner in GroceryAid's D&I Programme, collaborating with retailers including Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda & Co-op. The partnership focuses on advancing diversity and inclusion both internally and across the grocery industry, with access to GroceryAid's Learning Lab sessions and D&I Maturity Model.
• WagestreamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2022Dee Set partnered with Wagestream to offer flexible pay options to employees. The system allows workers to draw up to 50% of their earned wages at any time during the month, access savings bonds, and receive financial coaching. This initiative supports colleague financial wellbeing and helps attract talent amid the cost of living crisis.
• eArcusupportingTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner supporting Dee Set's innovative recruitment process with automated chat-based interviews and bias-free screening tools.
• SapiasupportingTechnology or IntegrationAI-powered chat interview technology partner providing bias-free assessment tools for Dee Set's recruitment process.
• Tactical SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company and part of the Dee Set Group. Tactical Solutions is one of the first companies in the UK to become B Corp certified, specializing in field marketing and tactical solutions.
• ReappcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company and part of the Dee Set Group, offering analytics, performance, and rewards solutions for retail operations.
• GroceryAid Learning LabsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partnership providing Learning Lab sessions and D&I resources through GroceryAid and its partners for grocery industry colleagues.
• NetstocksupportingTechnology or IntegrationSupply chain forecasting and inventory management technology integrated with Dee Set's warehouse management systems for demand prediction and stock optimization.

Scale indicators31 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Acosta: Acosta is Dee Set's parent company and the largest US-based sales and marketing agency serving CPG brands and retailers. Directly comparable in business model (field sales, merchandising, retail execution) and client base (major grocers and consumer brands), and shares the Acosta Europe umbrella that owns Dee Set.
• CPM Group: CPM is one of the world's largest field marketing and sales activation agencies, operating globally across retail, brand activation, and merchandising. It is the most direct competitor to Dee Set's core field marketing and merchandising offering, with similar enterprise retailer clients and a comparable services portfolio.
• Gekko Field Marketing: Gekko is a leading UK-based field marketing and experiential agency serving major retailers and brands. It is a head-to-head UK competitor to Dee Set on in-store execution, brand activation, and merchandising services for grocery and consumer goods clients.
• Grass Roots Group: Grass Roots is a UK and global field marketing, experiential, and employee engagement agency, part of Blackhawk Network. It competes with Dee Set on retail brand experiences, in-store activation, and promotional compliance auditing for enterprise clients.
• Midas: Midas is a UK field marketing and promotional activation agency (formerly part of Asahi's sales solutions arm). It is a direct peer to Dee Set on field sales, merchandising, and retail execution services targeted at UK grocers and CPG brands.
• Threefold: Threefold is a UK field marketing and retail services agency providing field sales, merchandising, and retail activation for major retailers and brands. Directly comparable in client base (UK grocers) and service mix (in-store execution, promotional compliance) to Dee Set.
• Solutionz Group: Solutionz Group is a UK field marketing, retail services, and event activation provider. It is a direct competitor to Dee Set on field sales deployment, promotional support, and in-store merchandising for enterprise retail clients.
• Marketing Management Group (MMG): MMG is a global field marketing and retail services company providing merchandising, brand activation, and retail execution. Directly comparable in service portfolio to Dee Set, with a multinational client base and similar field force model.

Regional players

• HighCo: HighCo is a French-headquartered marketing services group providing trade marketing, in-store activation, and digital services across continental Europe. Comparable to Dee Set on trade marketing and retail execution, but focused on France/Europe rather than the UK.

Emerging players

• Sales Performance International (SPI): SPI / Excellerate is a global field sales and retail execution specialist providing merchandising, field sales, and retail technology services. Comparable to Dee Set on the field execution and retail intelligence layer, and a credible adjacent peer for the technology-enabled services overlap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/deesetgroup
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/deeset
• Facebookfacebook.com/deesetgroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dee-set-group

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Dee Set