trnd

What trnd does

trnd is Europe's leading collaborative marketing company, operating a consumer community (members called "trndsters") that brands engage to generate authentic word-of-mouth recommendations at scale. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Munich via parent entity TERRITORY Influence GmbH, trnd recruits voluntary consumers across 14+ European markets, sends them products to test, and collects their reviews, photos, and social posts for redistribution to brand marketers. The company's core technology is trndsphere, a proprietary online community platform that handles campaign recruitment, project participation, content submission, and analytics, augmented by two operational sub-systems: the WOM Activity Index (an internal engagement-scoring mechanism that tracks reports, surveys, and conversations to determine eligibility for future campaigns) and the Wombats rewards system (a gamified points ledger that incentivises activity and referrals).

The business is a hybrid B2B professional services / community-platform model. Brands pay trnd on a quote-based, project and retainer basis to access trndster communities for product launches, sampling, awareness campaigns, and consumer-insight collection; the company has supported 500+ brands since 2005, with named enterprise clients spanning P&G, Unilever, L'Oréal, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Sony, COTY, Estée Lauder, Henkel, Danone, MARS, and Freixenet. Consumer-side pricing is freemium and free-of-charge, with voluntary participation. Distribution combines a self-serve trndsphere platform with a field-sales TERRITORY Influence agency overlay, organised through five wholly-owned regional subsidiaries covering Middle Europe (Munich/Hamburg), Southern Europe (Barcelona), Western Europe (Paris), and Central Eastern Europe (Budapest/Warsaw). The company is managed by three Managing Directors — Stefan Schumacher, Karsten Hoffmann, and Oliver Reinke — under private ownership with no disclosed venture or private-equity backing and no public listing.

Name

trnd

Legal name

TERRITORY Influence GmbH

Website

https://trnd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

trnd is a Munich-headquartered collaborative marketing platform that runs Europe's largest word-of-mouth consumer community, connecting brands such as P&G, Unilever, L'Oréal, and Coca-Cola with registered members who test products and generate authentic recommendations across 14+ European markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Brand Campaign Services: trnd generates revenue by partnering with brands to run word-of-mouth marketing campaigns. Brands pay for access to the community of consumers who test products and generate authentic recommendations. The agency has supported 500+ brands since 2005, indicating a B2B service model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

trnd operates a pan-European collaborative marketing platform that connects enterprise brands with a community of approximately 1.7 million registered consumers ("trndsters"). Brands launch word-of-mouth marketing campaigns on the platform; selected consumers receive products to test and then share honest opinions within their personal networks. The company monetizes these campaigns by selling brand campaign management services to corporate clients.

Product overview

trnd is a collaborative marketing platform operated by TERRITORY Influence GmbH that connects brands with consumers through an online community of registered members called 'trndsters'. The core platform facilitates word-of-mouth marketing campaigns where members receive products to test, share honest opinions, and promote brands to their networks. The platform includes the trnd community platform as the main product, supported by the WOM Activity Index (which tracks member engagement levels) and the Wombats rewards system (which gamifies participation through points). The underlying technology is branded as trndsphere. The service operates across multiple European country-specific sites and has worked with major consumer brands including P&G, Unilever, L'Oréal, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Henkel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• trnd Community Platform Pan-European collaborative marketing platform and consumer community where brands launch word-of-mouth marketing campaigns and registered consumers ("trndsters") apply to test products and share honest opinions with their personal networks. Used by brand marketers to drive product trial, peer recommendations, and authentic advocacy; used by consumers to participate in campaigns and earn Wombats rewards.
• Collaborative Marketing Campaign Services B2B marketing service in which trnd plans, recruits consumer participants, ships products, coordinates feedback, and measures WOM impact (via the WOM Activity Index) for enterprise brand clients across European markets. Sold as a campaign-based service to brand marketers.

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• P&GcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Procter & Gamble is one of trnd's major brand partners. P&G collaborates with trnd's community of consumers to test products and generate authentic word-of-mouth recommendations across P&G's portfolio of consumer goods brands.
• UnilevercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Unilever partners with trnd for collaborative marketing campaigns across its portfolio of food, home care, and personal care brands. Consumers test products and share honest recommendations.
• L'OréalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005L'Oréal collaborates with trnd for beauty and cosmetics product campaigns. Community members test and review products, providing feedback for product development.
• Coca-ColacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Coca-Cola has partnered with trnd for event-driven campaigns including FIFA World Cup watch parties and product sampling initiatives across European markets.
• NestlécoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Nestlé works with trnd on food and beverage product campaigns. The partnership enables consumer testing and authentic recommendations for Nestlé brands.
• COTYcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005COTY partners with trnd for fragrance and beauty product campaigns. Community members test and promote products to their personal networks.
• Estée LaudercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Estée Lauder collaborates with trnd for premium cosmetics product sampling and review campaigns in European markets.
• DanonecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Danone works with trnd on dairy and nutrition product campaigns. Community members provide feedback and share product experiences.
• SonycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Sony partners with trnd for consumer electronics product launches. The community provides authentic reviews and product feedback.
• HenkelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Henkel collaborates with trnd for laundry and home care product campaigns. Community members test products and share recommendations.
• MARScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005MARS works with trnd on confectionery and pet care brand campaigns. The partnership enables consumer engagement and authentic product recommendations.
• FreixenetcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Freixenet partners with trnd for sparkling wine product launches and awareness campaigns in European markets.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• CreatorIQ: CreatorIQ is an enterprise influencer-marketing platform providing creator discovery, campaign management, and analytics. It competes for the same enterprise marketing budgets that trnd targets.
• Aspire (AspireIQ): Aspire is an influencer marketing platform for mid-market and enterprise brands offering creator sourcing, UGC, and affiliate tools — competing for the same brand-side campaign budget as trnd.
• Octoly: Octoly is a creator-sampling and product-discovery platform connecting beauty and lifestyle brands with influencers — overlapping trnd's product-trial campaign model in similar FMCG verticals.
• Mavrck: Mavrck is an influencer-marketing platform focused on consumer brands, providing campaign workflow and measurement. It serves the same CPG/FMCG brand marketers as trnd.
• Tribe (Tribe Dynamics): Tribe is a global influencer marketing platform connecting brands with vetted micro-influencers via a self-serve marketplace. It overlaps with trnd's creator/advocate recruitment and brand-campaign service offering.

Direct peers

• Influenster: Influenster (owned by Bazaarvoice) operates a product-discovery community where members receive samples, write reviews, and share recommendations — directly mirroring trnd's trndster mechanic.
• BzzAgent: BzzAgent is a word-of-mouth marketing network that recruits everyday consumers to test and evangelize brand products. It is the closest direct functional analog to trnd's community-led WOM model.
• Social Native: Social Native is a content-amplification platform that connects brands with creators and consumers to produce authentic user-generated content at scale — comparable in business model and customer profile.

Regional players

• Reachhero: Reachhero is a Munich-based influencer marketing platform serving German-speaking markets. It is regionally comparable to trnd's German operations and competes for the same DACH brand budgets.

Broad incumbents

• Bazaarvoice: Bazaarvoice is a ratings-and-reviews SaaS platform that owns Influenster and supplies UGC and social-proof solutions across retail. It is a broader-scale incumbent addressing adjacent brand-marketing use cases.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trnd-uk
• Instagraminstagram.com/territoryinfluence
• Xx.com/trndUK

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 trnd