Swarm
Swarm is a UK-based, founder-owned brand experience agency that designs, engineers, and installs bespoke physical/digital experiential installations and Folio Mirror smart mirrors for global enterprise brands across retail, events, and marketing sectors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersRedhill, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Swarm does
Swarm Limited is a UK-based, founder-owned brand experience agency founded in 2009 by Tim Manning and Ray Harris, headquartered in Redhill, Surrey. The company designs, engineers, and installs bespoke physical/digital experiential installations for global enterprise clients across retail, events, marketing, and leisure sectors, including Budweiser, Ford, Burberry, Telefonica/O2, Foot Locker, and Condé Nast's Allure Store. Its technology stack combines custom hardware fabrication (extreme-environment installations, LED ribbons, gesture-controlled systems, IoT voice activations) with proprietary software UX and multi-language web platforms capable of handling high-traffic campaign surges.
The company's flagship product line is Folio Mirror — an interactive smart mirror range with variants spanning retail selfie capture (Folio Selfie), beauty tutorial recording (Folio Tutorial), salon styling (Folio Hair), gym/leisure portal (Folio Fitness), and customer loyalty (Folio Loyalty) — operated as a sister company and deployed across 500+ Foot Locker stores globally with three-continent reach and KC Mark certification for South Korea. Swarm operates a project-focused agile model, assembling hybrid delivery teams from a global freelance roster rather than maintaining a large permanent workforce, which keeps fixed cost low while scaling delivery for bespoke engagements.
Revenue is generated through three streams: bespoke project-based professional services fees (multi-year contracts, quote-based pricing), Folio Mirror hardware sales and installation, and licensing/royalty income from certified international deployments. The company is privately held, has not raised external funding rounds, and has remained in the 11–50 employee band over a 12-year operational history, reflecting disciplined bootstrap scaling.
Swarm firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Swarm
- Legal name
- Swarm Limited
- Website
- https://swarm.group
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Swarm is a UK-based, founder-owned brand experience agency that designs, engineers, and installs bespoke physical/digital experiential installations and Folio Mirror smart mirrors for global enterprise brands across retail, events, and marketing sectors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Swarm industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Experiential Brand Experience & Interactive Retail Technology
- NAICS
- Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design (MPAAAGAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Activation/Experiential Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAO), Environmental & Experiential Brand Design (Retail/Exhibit/Signage) (MPAAAEAG), Alternative OOH & Ambient Media (Guerrilla, Pop-Up Installations) (BPAFALAI)
Keywords
Where Swarm is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Redhill
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Swarm business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Experiential Brand Experience Projects: Project-based fees for designing, building, and installing physical/digital brand experience installations for events, retail, and marketing activations. Projects include bespoke engineering solutions, software development, and production. Revenue is earned per engagement with no recurring component.
- Folio Mirror Product Sales: Sale and deployment of Folio Mirror smart mirror hardware products to retail, beauty, and leisure brands. Products include Folio Selfie, Folio Tutorial, Folio Loyalty, Folio Fitness, and Folio Hair. Deployment spans Foot Locker globally and the Allure Store in New York.
- Product Licensing & Certification: Folio Mirror products are licensed for deployment in international markets following regulatory certification (e.g., KC Mark for South Korea), enabling royalty-based or licensing revenue from franchise and chain deployments.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Bespoke project-based pricing — no fixed tiers |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Swarm product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Swarm produces extraordinary projects for brands, engaging customers across physical and digital installations. The agency designs, engineers, builds and deploys bespoke experiential activations for retail, events, marketing/PR, and leisure/entertainment clients, combining custom hardware fabrication with proprietary software, IoT and web platform development. Alongside bespoke projects, Swarm sells the Folio Mirror line of interactive smart mirrors (Selfie, Tutorial, Fitness, Loyalty, Hair) to retail and beauty chains worldwide.
Product overview
Swarm is a brand experience agency that develops products and services across experiential marketing, physical/digital installations, and interactive retail technology. The company's core product portfolio centers on the Folio Mirror line—interactive smart mirrors that blend digital and physical retail experiences. The Folio Mirror family includes multiple specialized variants: Folio Selfie (retail customer engagement and photo capture), Folio Tutorial (beauty tutorial recording), Folio Fitness (gym/leisure center portal), Folio Loyalty (customer retention), and Folio Hair (salon styling sessions with 360-degree video). The company also offers bespoke brand experience services for retail, events, marketing/PR, and leisure/entertainment sectors, creating physical/digital installations for clients including Budweiser, Ford, Burberry, and Footlocker.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Folio Mirror: Interactive mirrors that blend the digital and physical worlds, powered by cutting edge sensory technology. The range includes Folio Fitness, Folio Selfie, Folio Tutorial, Folio Loyalty, and Folio Hair.
Products and services
- Folio Mirror Interactive smart mirror platform that blends the digital and physical worlds, powered by cutting-edge sensory technology. The core product range on which the Folio Selfie, Folio Tutorial, Folio Loyalty, Folio Fitness and Folio Hair variants are built. KC Mark certified for deployment in South Korea.
- Brand Experience Agency Services Bespoke design, engineering, software and production of physical/digital brand experience installations for enterprise brand clients. Delivered across four service areas: Retail (connected in-store experiences and digital signage), Events (World Expos, exhibitions, festival activations), Marketing & PR (experiential devices for pop-up launches, touring campaigns and permanent installations), and Leisure & Entertainment (engineering solutions and innovative software for brand environments). Projects are delivered by hybrid project teams assembled from a freelancer roster and include hardware fabrication, software development, IoT integration and bespoke web platforms.
Quantifiable outcome
- 500 cars sold in the first 29 seconds; 9,200 applicants over 90 minutes; 2 million site visits — Ford Mustang UK digital launch
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Swarm
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Swarm technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Swarm partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Condé Nast / AllurecoreSwarm's sister company Folio Mirror was selected as the interactive smart mirror technology provider for the Allure Store — Condé Nast's first physical retail space on Lafayette Street, New York City. Markus Grindel, managing director of global brand licensing at Condé Nast, publicly commented on the partnership, highlighting Swarm's understanding that technology must serve the customer experience. This is a flagship reference for the Folio Mirror product line.
- Foot LockercoreFolio Mirror's Selfie mirrors are deployed throughout Foot Locker stores globally as part of a major retail technology rollout. The partnership achieved KC Mark certification enabling expansion into the South Korean market. Represents one of Folio Mirror's largest enterprise deployments with over 500 stores globally.
- Shelton Fleming AssociatesminorSwarm collaborated with strategic creative events agency Shelton Fleming Associates to realise a digital interpretation of Ninety One's physical stand for FundForum International in Monte Carlo. Swarm delivered the technology and interactive elements (QR-enabled pledge cards, digital twin of the pledge tree, selfie functionality) while Shelton Fleming handled the physical stand design and creative strategy.
- Folio MirrorcoreFolio Mirror is Swarm's sister company and the product brand behind the Folio Mirror smart mirror product range. Swarm develops the strategy, ideas, and tools for brand experiences while Folio Mirror is the boxed product (Folio Selfie, Tutorial, Loyalty, Fitness, Hair) that can be adapted across multiple sectors. The two companies operate in close coordination, sharing engineering and software capabilities.
- US-based Freelance Installers (Nancy and Pete)minorUS-based freelancers commissioned the installation of Folio Mirrors at the Allure Store in New York while UK travel restrictions prevented the Swarm team from attending in person. Illustrates Swarm's use of a distributed freelance network for international project delivery.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Swarm competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- UNIT9: Independent creative technology studio producing interactive installations, branded experiences, and product design. Closely comparable to Swarm in combining bespoke experiential builds with proprietary interactive hardware/software capabilities for global brands.
- MKG: Independent, tech-forward experiential marketing agency known for blending brand storytelling with proprietary interactive technology. Comparable to Swarm in its hybrid creative-tech delivery and emphasis on measurable outcomes for enterprise clients.
- B-Reel: Sweden-founded global creative tech agency producing interactive installations, branded experiences, and bespoke digital products. Comparable to Swarm's hybrid hardware-software engineering focus and emphasis on high-profile enterprise clients.
- Tool of North America: Los Angeles-based creative production company specializing in commercials, experiential content, and brand activations for global brands. Direct peer to Swarm in delivering integrated creative-tech brand experience projects.
- Sparks: Philadelphia-headquartered global brand experience agency designing permanent exhibits, events, and digital activations for clients such as Google, Samsung, and Heineken. Direct competitor in delivering technology-enabled experiential campaigns for enterprise brands.
- Amplify: UK-based brand activation and experiential marketing agency with a similar independent, founder-led profile and emphasis on technology-led experiences for major advertisers. London/UK peer comparison for Swarm's bespoke activation model.
Broad incumbents
- Jack Morton Worldwide: One of the largest global brand experience agencies, delivering live events, exhibits, and digital-physical activations for major brands like Ford, Google, and Coca-Cola. Directly comparable to Swarm's bespoke brand activation model but at vastly larger scale and geographic reach.
- George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: Long-established global experience marketing agency operating across events, exhibits, and digital activations. Comparable in its custom brand-experience builds for Fortune 500 clients across industries including automotive, tech, and consumer goods.
- Imagination Group: London-headquartered brand experience agency famous for Ford, BBC, and Nike experiences combining physical installations, content, and digital. Shares Swarm's UK base, blue-chip client roster, and integration of physical design with technology.
Regional players
- Hot Coffee: UK-led creative and brand-experience agency delivering campaigns, activations, and digital experiences for major European advertisers. Comparable to Swarm in its UK base, mid-sized agency profile, and technology-enhanced brand activations for enterprise clients.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Swarm social profiles
Digital presenceSwarm financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Swarm leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Swarm funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Swarm 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 Swarm
What does Swarm do?
Swarm produces extraordinary projects for brands, engaging customers across physical and digital installations. The agency designs, engineers, builds and deploys bespoke experiential activations for retail, events, marketing/PR, and leisure/entertainment clients, combining custom hardware fabrication with proprietary software, IoT and web platform development. Alongside bespoke projects, Swarm sells the Folio Mirror line of interactive smart mirrors (Selfie, Tutorial, Fitness, Loyalty, Hair) to retail and beauty chains worldwide.
Is Swarm a public or private company?
Swarm is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Swarm founded?
Swarm was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Swarm based?
Swarm is headquartered in Redhill, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Swarm make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Experiential Brand Experience Projects are the primary driver. The others are folio Mirror Product Sales and product Licensing & Certification.
Who are Swarm's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are UNIT9, MKG, B-Reel, Tool of North America, Sparks and Amplify. Broad incumbents are Jack Morton Worldwide, George P. Johnson Experience Marketing and Imagination Group. Hot Coffee is listed as a regional player.
Does Swarm have an API?
No public API is recorded for Swarm.
What industry is Swarm in?
Swarm's product category is Experiential Brand Experience & Interactive Retail Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAGAA, Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design, with a secondary code of MPAAAAAO, Activation/Experiential Creative Agencies. Its NAICS code is 33411 and its SIC code is 7311.