Glarotech
Glarotech GmbH is a Swiss software company that develops, hosts, and supports PepperShop, an in-house unified commerce platform combining webshop and POS with pre-built ERP integrations. It serves small, medium, and mid-market enterprises across the DACH region via direct sales, self-service, and ERP implementation partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersWil, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Glarotech does
Glarotech GmbH is a privately held Swiss software company founded in 2000 (incorporated as a GmbH in 2004) and headquartered in Wil, canton of St. Gallen. It develops, operates, and supports PepperShop, an in-house full-stack unified commerce platform that combines a web shop (e-commerce) and a web-based point-of-sale system (POS) in a single codebase, alongside pre-built ERP connectors (Abacus, SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, SelectLine, Infoniqa One 200, Novacom KS2000, Pondus), payment integrations (SumUp), shipping/franking integrations (DPD, DHL, WSBC, ESR), and marketing tools (Mailchimp, RiskCUBE). The platform has been continuously developed since its first release in 2001, with major version releases roughly every 1-3 years through v11 in 2025, and is hosted on infrastructure the company itself operates.
The company sells primarily to small, medium, and mid-market enterprises in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) — including retailers operating both physical stores and online channels, B2B wholesalers, and government/public-sector clients — via a hybrid GTM combining direct sales for enterprise projects, a self-service channel on peppershop.com for SMBs, and ERP implementation partners (VIS Consulting AG, Implevit AG, Abraxas Informatik AG) for joint deployments. Revenue is generated from multi-stream sources: subscription licensing for PepperShop modules (12-month minimum terms), monthly recurring hosting (with 30-day cancellation and 1-month initial term), professional services for design, integration, and custom development, technical support and SLAs, and ancillary one-time fees such as domain registration. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is published on the website or quoted on request.
Notable enterprise customers include Swiss Post, TCS (Touring Club Switzerland), Scania Schweiz, Emil Frey, HUG AG (Wernli), Profot, Fibag, Calendaria, Just Schweiz, Stadt Wil, and Philatelie Liechtenstein. The business is bootstrapped and founder-controlled: the original founders Reto Glanzmann and Roland Brühwiler remain in management and ownership alongside co-managing director José Fontanil, with no disclosed external investors, parent company, subsidiaries, or funding rounds. The company has roughly 25-30 employees including apprentices, relocated to a larger office in 2024, and continues to release product updates on a predictable cadence.
Glarotech firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Glarotech
- Legal name
- Glarotech GmbH
- Website
- https://glarotech.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Glarotech GmbH is a Swiss software company that develops, hosts, and supports PepperShop, an in-house unified commerce platform combining webshop and POS with pre-built ERP integrations. It serves small, medium, and mid-market enterprises across the DACH region via direct sales, self-service, and ERP implementation partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Glarotech industry classification
Industry- Product category
- E-commerce / Unified Commerce Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (51321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Generalist Marketplaces & Online Malls (BPAMAGAA)
Keywords
Where Glarotech is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wil
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Glarotech business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- PepperShop Webshop: Webshop software licensing with modular extensions and additional features. Annual or multi-year contracts with pricing based on features and modules selected.
- Web Hosting Services: Monthly hosting contracts for webspace and server services. Contracts renew monthly with 30-day cancellation notice. Payment due semi-annually in advance.
- Professional Services: Consulting, design, implementation, and support services for e-commerce projects. Includes custom development, ERP integrations, and ongoing SLA support.
- Domain Registration: Domain name registration services for webspace customers, billed separately according to price list.
- Technical Support: Technical support services billed according to price list or individually negotiated Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Hosting contracts with 1-month initial term, auto-renewing monthly with 30-day cancellation notice |
| Subscription | Annual | PepperShop modules with 12-month minimum contract duration |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom development and implementation services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Glarotech product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Glarotech GmbH develops and sells the PepperShop unified commerce platform, a Swiss full-stack solution that combines point-of-sale (POS) and webshop functionality in a single system. The company develops the software in-house, operates its own server infrastructure, and provides related agency services including design, ERP integration, implementation, hosting, and SLA-based technical support primarily to businesses in the DACH region.
Product overview
Glarotech GmbH offers PepperShop as a unified commerce platform consisting of multiple integrated products. The core offering is PepperShop, which combines a web shop (PepperShop Webshop-Software) and a point-of-sale system (PepperShop POS) in a single system — enabling seamless operations between online retail and brick-and-mortar stores. The platform is complemented by PepperShop Webshop-Hosting (managed server operation), PepperShop Support/SLA, design customization services, and Digital-Commerce-Projekte (custom implementation projects). Various additional modules extend the platform's capabilities. Glarotech operates its own server systems and develops the software entirely in-house since 2001, providing software, hosting, and agency services from a single source.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- PepperShop Webshop-Software Professional Swiss e-commerce webshop software providing online retail capabilities including website hosting, design customization, and full administration for B2B and B2C operations.
- PepperShop POS (Kassenlösung) Web-based point-of-sale (POS) cash register solution for brick-and-mortar retail, providing seamless sales experiences with customer portal integration and multi-channel capabilities.
- PepperShop Webshop-Hosting Managed hosting service for PepperShop webshops, providing server operation, maintenance, security, and round-the-clock support so merchants can focus on their business.
- PepperShop Support / SLA Technical support service available via email, phone, or on-site consultation with special Service Level Agreement terms for prioritized assistance.
- Digital-Commerce-Projekte (E-Commerce-Projekte) Custom e-commerce and POS system implementation projects providing consulting, development, and agency services for tailored digital commerce solutions.
Quantifiable outcome
- Elimination of complex interfaces and duplicate data management for unified commerce operations
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Glarotech
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Glarotech technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration22 records
Feature9 records
Glarotech partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Abacus Research AGcorePre-built REST-API integration with Abacus ERP system, enabling direct data exchange between PepperShop and Abacus for customer and order management. Used in projects for Stadt Wil and Philatelie Liechtenstein.
- SAPcoreIntegration with SAP Business One for inventory and distribution management, as well as SAP ERP systems. Used in implementations for Papeterie Zumstein AG, Weckerle AG, and FOTOEIGENART GmbH.
- Microsoft Dynamics NAV / NavisioncoreIntegration via Implevit AG as implementation partner for Microsoft Dynamics NAV, enabling article and order management directly in existing order processing systems.
- Abraxas Informatik AGminorImplementation partner for Abacus-based solutions, collaborated on the Stadt Wil project for POS system integration with ERP.
- VIS Consulting AGminorSAP Business One implementation specialist that partnered with Glarotech on the Papeterie Zumstein AG project for CashOne POS integration.
- Implevit AGminorMicrosoft Navision implementation partner that collaborated on the Profot AG project for ERP webshop integration.
- Swiss21.orgminorLaunched in 2018 with Glarotech GmbH as a strong partner in the areas of e-commerce and POS, providing unified commerce solutions.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Glarotech competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- commercetools: Munich-headquartered headless/composable commerce platform serving large enterprises globally. Adjacent to PepperShop in DACH origin and enterprise customer focus, though typically deployed at a larger scale and price point.
- Shopify: Global hosted commerce platform aggressively expanding into DACH via local partnerships. Competes with PepperShop primarily at the lower SMB tier and increasingly at mid-market through Shopify Plus.
- Salesforce Commerce Cloud: Global enterprise commerce platform serving large retailers worldwide. Competes with PepperShop at the upper enterprise tier where customers seek a fully integrated CRM-plus-commerce stack.
- Adobe Commerce (Magento): Global enterprise commerce platform (formerly Magento) with broad DACH penetration through implementation partners. Competes with PepperShop for mid-market and enterprise deals, with a substantially larger partner ecosystem.
Emerging players
- WooCommerce: Open-source WordPress-based commerce plugin used widely by very small Swiss and DACH merchants. Competes with PepperShop at the entry-level SMB tier where merchants prioritize low cost and WordPress familiarity.
Direct peers
- novomind: Hamburg-based commerce and customer service software provider serving enterprise and mid-market clients in DACH. Comparable to PepperShop in offering unified commerce and PIM/OMS capabilities for retailers operating in German-speaking markets.
- OXID eSales: Germany-based e-commerce and PIM platform serving DACH mid-market and enterprise merchants. Comparable to PepperShop in targeting integration-heavy B2B/B2C commerce with a focus on omnichannel and ERP connectivity.
- Shopware: German-headquartered open-source e-commerce platform serving SMB and mid-market merchants across DACH. Closest direct competitor to PepperShop given overlapping DACH focus, ERP/PIM integration strategy, and merchant-segment overlap.
- Spryker Systems: Berlin-headquartered composable commerce platform serving enterprise and upper mid-market clients across DACH and globally. Comparable to PepperShop in addressing complex B2B and unified commerce requirements, though at a higher enterprise price tier.
Others
- Swiss21.org: Swiss business-software alliance in which Glarotech has been a 'strong partner' since 2018 for e-commerce and POS. Functions partly as a peer and partly as a referral ecosystem that distributes PepperShop to Swiss SMEs.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Glarotech social profiles
Digital presenceGlarotech financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Glarotech leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Glarotech funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Glarotech 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 Glarotech
What does Glarotech do?
Glarotech GmbH develops and sells the PepperShop unified commerce platform, a Swiss full-stack solution that combines point-of-sale (POS) and webshop functionality in a single system. The company develops the software in-house, operates its own server infrastructure, and provides related agency services including design, ERP integration, implementation, hosting, and SLA-based technical support primarily to businesses in the DACH region.
Is Glarotech a public or private company?
Glarotech is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Glarotech founded?
Glarotech was founded in 2004. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Glarotech based?
Glarotech is headquartered in Wil, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Glarotech make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. PepperShop Webshop is the primary driver. The others are web Hosting Services, professional Services, domain Registration and technical Support.
Who are Glarotech's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are commercetools, Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Adobe Commerce (Magento). WooCommerce is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are novomind, OXID eSales, Shopware and Spryker Systems. Swiss21.org is listed as an others.
Does Glarotech have an API?
No public API is recorded for Glarotech.
What industry is Glarotech in?
Glarotech's product category is E-commerce / Unified Commerce Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAGAA, Generalist Marketplaces & Online Malls. Its NAICS code is 5132.