What Smartson does

Smartson is a Sweden-based consumer product testing platform founded in 1999 that connects consumer brands with a community of test pilots across eight European countries. The platform recruits consumers who apply to test products in exchange for receiving items free or at discounted prices; pilots then publish honest reviews on the Smartson platform, on brand e-commerce pages, and across social media. The platform serves enterprise clients spanning beauty and personal care (L'Oréal Paris, L'Oréal Professionnel, Schwarzkopf, Maybelline, Garnier, Kérastase), consumer electronics (Samsung, Motorola, Logitech), home appliances (Electrolux, AEG), food and groceries (Nestlé, Quorn), pet care (Purina), and services/subscriptions (Nextory, Telenor).

The core product is the Smartson Product Testing Platform, which includes a Testpilot Program, the Smartson Crowdscore rating and review aggregation system, and 12 organized Category Pages covering Ljud & Bild (Audio & Video), Hälsa & Skönhet (Health & Beauty), Barn & Leksaker (Children & Toys), Kläder & Accessoarer (Clothes & Accessories), Datorer & Tillbehör (Computers & Accessories), Upplevelser & Resor (Experiences & Travel), Dagligvaror (Groceries), Hem & Trädgård (Home & Garden), Motor & Tillbehör (Motor & Accessories), Husdjur (Pets), Tjänster & Abonnemang (Services & Subscriptions), and Sport & Friluftsliv (Sports & Outdoors). The platform is accessible via localized country sites (smartson.se, .dk, .fi, .no, .nl, .de, .es, .co.uk), with no native mobile app and an active social presence across Facebook, Instagram (@smartsontestpilot), TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Smartson operates a professional services revenue model under which brands pay for access to authentic consumer feedback and reviews; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, no parent entity, and a headcount of 11-50 employees, led by CEO Karl Händel, CTO Fredrik Westermarck, and co-founder Martin Hellgren. Headquarters are in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company maintains a separate B2B portal (business.smartson.com) for brand demo bookings and enterprise sales.

Name

Smartson

Legal name

Smartson

Website

https://smartson.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smartson is a Sweden-based product testing platform connecting consumer brands with test pilots across 8 European countries. Founded in 1999, it operates a community-led review platform spanning 12 product categories for enterprise clients including Samsung, Electrolux, L'Oréal, and Schwarzkopf.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Brand partnerships for product testing services: Smartson partners with consumer product brands (beauty, electronics, household goods, food, etc.) to recruit and manage test pilots who try products and provide reviews. Brands pay for access to authentic consumer feedback and reviews published on Smartson and external platforms.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smartson operates a community-based product testing platform that connects consumer brands with recruited test pilots across 8 European countries. Brands pay for managed testing campaigns in which testers receive products free or at discounted prices and publish honest reviews on the Smartson platform, brand e-commerce sites, and social media. The service covers 12 product categories including electronics, beauty, household goods, food, and pet care, and is delivered through country-specific websites plus a separate B2B business portal.

Product overview

Smartson is a multi-category consumer product testing platform operating across Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The platform connects brands with test pilots who receive products free or at discounted prices in exchange for honest reviews. The core offering consists of the Smartson Product Testing Platform with its Testpilot Program, Smartson Crowdscore rating system, and organized Category Pages covering 12 product categories (Ljud & Bild, Hälsa & Skönhet, Barn & Leksaker, Kläder & Accessoarer, Datorer & Tillbehör, Upplevelser & Resor, Dagligvaror, Hem & Trädgård, Motor & Tillbehör, Husdjur, Tjänster & Abonnemang, and Sport & Friluftsliv). Brands tested include Samsung, Electrolux, L'Oréal Paris, Schwarzkopf, Maybelline, Nestlé, Logitech, HP, TCL, Motorola, and many others across beauty, electronics, home, food, automotive, and services sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smartson Product Testing Platform A consumer product testing platform that connects consumer brands with test pilots across 8 European countries. Test pilots apply to test products free or at discounted prices and publish honest reviews on Smartson, brand e-commerce sites, and social media. Covers 12 product categories including electronics, beauty, household goods, food, and pet care.
• Smartson Business Portal A dedicated B2B portal (business.smartson.com) where brands can book demos and learn about Smartson's product testing services. Acts as the brand-side entry point for booking and managing testing campaigns on the platform.

Named customers9 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

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SchwarzkopfcoreOthersSchwarzkopf conducts regular product testing through Smartson for hair care and hair color products including Schwarzkopf Gloss Supreme, Schwarzkopf LIVE, Schwarzkopf Gliss, and Schwarzkopf Natural & Easy. Multiple tests with 180-500+ test pilots per campaign.
• L'Oréal PariscoreOthersL'Oréal Paris runs multiple product tests through Smartson including makeup, skincare, and lip care products. Tests include True Match Hyaluron Tinted Balm, Age Perfect line, Revitalift Glass Skin, and Men Expert Hydra.
• ElectroluxcoreOthersElectrolux conducts extensive product testing for home appliances including refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, pizza ovens, and kitchen equipment. Regular campaigns across multiple product categories.
• SamsungcoreOthersSamsung tests TVs, soundbars, and home electronics through Smartson. Tests include Samsung OLED TVs, Neo QLED TVs, Music Frame speakers, and Odyssey gaming monitors.
• NestléminorOthersNestlé conducts product testing for baby food, cereals, and infant nutrition products including NAN Pro, Min Välling, Min Gröt, and organic baby food.
• MaybellinecoreOthersMaybelline conducts makeup product testing through Smartson including base products, lash items, and lip kits.
• GarnierminorOthersGarnier tests skin and hair care products through Smartson's Nordic test pilot program.
• PurinaminorOthersPurina conducts pet food testing including cat food (ONE, PRO PLAN, Gourmet, DentaLife) and dog food (Beyond, Party Mix) with hundreds of pet owners as test pilots.
• QuornminorOthersQuorn tests meat substitute products including Tomat & Basilika slices and Salt & Pepper Tenders.
• MotorolaminorOthersMotorola tests smartphones including the edge 70 fusion through Smartson's test pilot program.
• NextoryminorOthersNextory offers free trials of their e-book and audiobook service to Smartson test pilots in exchange for reviews and social media mentions.
• LogitechminorOthersLogitech tests computer peripherals including gaming mice, keyboards, webcams, and streaming lights.
• KérastaseminorOthersKérastase tests premium hair care products including Chronologista and various serums with select test pilots.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• UserTesting: UserTesting operates a human-insight platform where consumers test digital products and experiences and provide feedback. Comparable in the 'consumer-tests-product-and-reports' framework, though focused on digital/UX usability rather than physical consumer goods.
• Toluna: Toluna is a global consumer-insights platform with a community of panelists who participate in surveys and product tests. Overlaps with Smartson in consumer-feedback-for-brands but emphasizes survey-based research over product sampling.

Direct peers

• Grin: Grin is a creator marketing platform focused on authentic, product-seeding campaigns for consumer brands. Closely comparable to Smartson's brand-partnership, product-distribution, and review-generation approach.
• Influencer.com: Influencer.com (formerly Aspire) is an end-to-end influencer marketing platform that connects brands with creators for content and product seeding. Overlaps with Smartson's brand-to-consumer content generation model across multiple consumer product categories.
• Sampler: Sampler is a digital product-sampling platform that delivers free product samples to consumers and captures feedback for brands. Directly comparable to Smartson's free-product-for-review model across CPG and beauty categories.
• BzzAgent: BzzAgent is one of the original word-of-mouth and product sampling marketing platforms, connecting brands with consumers who receive products in exchange for honest reviews. Directly aligned with Smartson's core model of recruiting test pilots to try products and publish feedback across consumer categories.
• CreatorIQ: CreatorIQ is an enterprise-grade influencer marketing platform used by global brands to manage creator relationships and content campaigns. Comparable to Smartson in serving enterprise consumer brands with content/UGC needs at scale.

Broad incumbents

• Trustpilot: Trustpilot is a leading open consumer-review platform used by brands and retailers worldwide. Comparable to Smartson in the consumer-reviews space but operates a global open platform rather than a curated test-pilot community with product seeding.
• NielsenIQ: NielsenIQ is a global consumer-intelligence firm providing market research, product testing, and analytics to CPG brands. Comparable to Smartson in serving consumer-product brands with consumer-feedback services, though much broader in category coverage and geographic reach.
• Kantar: Kantar is one of the world's largest market research and consumer-insight firms, offering product testing, brand tracking, and analytics. Overlaps with Smartson's brand-customer insight offering but at significantly larger scale, broader scope, and with established global infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/smartson
• Facebookfacebook.com/smartson
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smartson
• Instagraminstagram.com/smartsontestpilot
• TikToktiktok.com/@smartsontestpilot
• Xx.com/smartson

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Smartson