cinnamon

What cinnamon does

cinnamon GmbH is a Berlin-headquartered event staffing agency founded in 2000 as a division of VIVA Service Agentur GmbH and operating independently since 2001 under sole managing director and shareholder Linda Starke. The company supplies hosts, hostesses, promoters, service staff, makeup artists, and setup/breakdown personnel to corporate clients across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, organized into five core service divisions — Hospitality, Hands, Catering Staff, Beauty+, and Promotion — with sub-products covering walking acts, sampling, model hosts/hostesses, visagists, professional attire coordination, and (historically) event transportation. Its operating model is straightforward professional services: cinnamon employs the staff directly, assumes all employment administration, social insurance, and accident insurance liability, and bills clients on hourly or day-rate terms with a 4-hour minimum per person per day, with day-rate pricing common for multi-day trade shows.

The underlying "technology" is operational rather than digital: a pre-vetted pool of several thousand experienced hosts, promoters, and event workers matched to client briefs by a sales and operations team across seven physical offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Salzburg, Bregenz, and Zurich. cinnamon goes to market through direct B2B sales — website contact forms, phone and email inquiries routed by office, and inbound referrals — and reports heavy reliance on repeat bookings and event-agency relationships for new business. There is no self-service booking product, no public API or SDK, and no AI/automation layer described in the source data.

Its enterprise client roster spans automotive (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford, CUPRA), luxury goods (Cartier, Montblanc, Giorgio Armani), technology (Google, Microsoft, YouTube, TikTok, PayPal), hospitality (Airbnb, Starbucks), beverages (Coca-Cola), media (Axel Springer), and large-scale live events (gamescom 2025 with ~200 personnel, Deutsche Telekom at Splash Festival 2025), demonstrating capability to mobilize 100-200+ staff for single events. The company is founder-owned, bootstrapped with no external funding, and operates as a going concern with active recruitment and continued partnership development.

Name

cinnamon

Legal name

cinnamon GmbH

Website

https://cinnamon.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

cinnamon GmbH is a Berlin-based event staffing agency supplying hosts, hostesses, promoters, and service staff to enterprise clients across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. With 25+ years operating, it maintains a pre-vetted pool of thousands of event workers for trade shows, conferences, and brand activations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Staffing Services

NAICS

Food Service Contractors (72231), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Vendor Sourcing & Contract Management (HSACAAAE)

Keywords

• Event staffing services
• Hostess and promoter agency
• Trade show personnel
• Hospitality staffing
• Brand activation staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Event staffing services: cinnamon provides hosts, hostesses, promoters, service staff, beauty/makeup artists, setup/breakdown hands, and other event personnel to corporate clients for trade shows, conferences, galas, promotions, and festivals. Revenue is generated through hourly or daily staffing fees charged to clients, with day-rate pricing common for multi-day trade shows and hourly rates for shorter assignments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

cinnamon GmbH is a German event staffing agency that supplies trained hosts, hostesses, promoters, service staff, beauty/makeup artists, and setup personnel for trade shows, conferences, galas, promotions, and festivals across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The company recruits, briefs, and deploys brand-fit staff on behalf of corporate clients and event agencies, handling employment contracts, social insurance, and accident insurance so the client carries no employment risk.

Product overview

cinnamon operates as a unified event staffing platform offering five core service divisions: Hospitality (hosts and hostesses), Hands (setup and breakdown personnel), Catering Staff, Beauty+, and Promotion services. The company provides comprehensive event personnel solutions including specialized sub-products such as walking acts, product sampling, model hostesses/hosts, makeup artists, professional attire coordination, and event transportation. Staff are employed through legally compliant employment models and deployed across Germany and Austria. The service portfolio spans trade shows, conferences, galas, festivals, and corporate events, supported by offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Salzburg, and Zurich.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hospitality (Hosts & Hostesses)

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 200 personnel deployed at gamescom 2025 for exhibitors including Xbox, THQ, Pearl Abyss, and Level Infinite.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• nodresscoreStrategic or Co-development Partnernodress is cinnamon's long-standing partner for event clothing and costume rental. cinnamon's staff access nodress's extensive wardrobe for professional, brand-aligned outfits at events. nodress provides clothing packages that cinnamon coordinates for clients, including cleaning and delivery logistics.
• mojo mobilityminorOthersmojo mobility is recommended by cinnamon as a professional mobility and driver service provider for clients who previously used cinnamon DRIVE. cinnamon no longer operates its own driver service but refers clients to mojo mobility for events requiring shuttle, limousine, or valet parking services.
• fairpflichtetminorStrategic or Co-development Partnercinnamon is a member of fairpflichtet, a sustainability code for the German events industry, signaling commitment to responsible business practices in event staffing.
• Berlin Event NetworkminorOthersPartner network for Berlin-based event industry professionals and suppliers, part of the broader event ecosystem.
• Forward LiveminorOthersPartner platform within the event industry network (fwd-logo), serving as a collaboration or resource hub for event professionals.
• GVP — Gesamtverband der PersonaldienstleisterminorOtherscinnamon is a member of GVP, the German staffing industry association, indicating compliance with industry standards and labor regulations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sparks: Global experiential marketing agency within The Marketing Arm, providing brand experiences and event staffing for major consumer brands — overlapping with cinnamon's promotion and hostess services.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Global experiential brand experience agency that designs and executes events including the staffing components cinnamon provides, but at much larger scale across brand strategy, content, and production.
• GMR Marketing: Global experiential marketing agency providing brand activation and event staffing services for major consumer brands, comparable in client profile to cinnamon's blue-chip roster.
• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: Large global experiential agency producing brand experiences and trade show activations, including the on-the-ground event staffing cinnamon specializes in.

Direct peers

• Event Hotels: European event staffing and hospitality services provider working with hotels and venues to deliver event personnel across multiple countries, comparable in service model to cinnamon.
• PRO EVENT GmbH: German event and promotion staffing agency providing hosts, hostesses, and promotional personnel for trade shows, congresses, and corporate events across Germany.
• KEINE MACKEN GmbH: Berlin-based event staffing agency offering hosts, hostesses, promoters, and service staff for trade fairs and corporate events. Operates in the same German event staffing niche as cinnamon.
• COCO GmbH: Berlin-based hostess and event staffing agency serving trade shows, congresses, and brand activations across Germany. Directly comparable to cinnamon in service scope, geography, and target clientele.

Emerging players

• MKG: Experiential agency creating brand experiences and events for lifestyle, culture, and consumer clients, including staffing components that overlap with cinnamon's hospitality and promotion services.

Regional players

• MC Services AG: German-headquartered event, communications, and investor services firm active across European markets. Comparable to cinnamon in event services delivery for DACH enterprise clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cinnamonGmbH
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cinnamon-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/zimties
• TikToktiktok.com/@zimties

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 cinnamon