What Studentbeans Limited does

Pion, the operating brand of The Beans Group Limited (legal entity Studentbeans Limited), is a verified-audience marketing platform that helps consumer brands reach and transact with members of ten closed consumer groups, anchored historically in the student segment and extended through Beans iD to graduates, military, healthcare workers, first responders, teachers, new parents, charity workers, low-income consumers and people with disabilities. Its core technology stack combines the Beans iD verification engine, the Code Track Pro proprietary transaction-tracking solution, a self-service Pion Portal for analytics, and APIs plus a Shopify app and SSO that integrate verification into web, app, in-store, CRM and loyalty environments. The company operates a B2B2C model: brands pay to list offers on Pion's owned marketplaces (Student Beans, GradBeans, Beans iD), subscribe to verification technology, and buy advertising, creator campaigns and bespoke Gen Z insights, while consumers access discounts via web, mobile app and (post-2026) in-person Student Shopping Nights at UK shopping centres. Revenue is generated through a mix of commission on qualifying transactions, annual rolling subscription fees for listing services and verification technology, advertising and media spend, and bespoke research services, with pricing delivered via quote-based enterprise agreements and Booking Forms. Founded in 2005 in Birmingham by brothers James and Mike Eder, the company has grown to 3,500+ brand customers, 50M+ cumulative verified consumers and 10M+ active members across 100+ countries, and is headquartered in London with offices in Manchester, New York and Sydney.

Name

Studentbeans Limited

Legal name

The Beans Group Limited

Website

https://www.wearepion.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Pion (operating as Student Beans) is a verified-audience marketing platform that enables consumer brands to verify, engage and transact with members of ten closed consumer groups across 100+ countries through marketplaces, APIs and in-person events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Commission on Qualifying Transactions: Commission payable by customer calculated as percentage of or fixed amount based on each Qualifying Transaction where a Member makes a purchase. Tracking via Affiliate Network, Code Track Pro, or Manual Reporting depending on checkout location. Primary revenue mechanism.
2. Listing Services: Annual rolling subscription for publishing brand offers on Pion's marketplaces (Student Beans, GradBeans, BeansID). Automatic renewal at end of Minimum Term.
3. Verification Technology: Annual rolling subscription for verification technology enabling brands to verify customer membership in closed consumer groups. Automatic renewal at end of Minimum Term.
4. Advertising and Media Products: Advertising and media products or services to promote brands, offers, and specific products. Includes creator campaigns, digital advertising, and experiential marketing. Does not auto-renew.
5. Insights and Research: Bespoke research products including concept testing, youth panel surveys (Ask a Gen Z), campaign effectiveness analysis, creative testing, and bespoke research projects. Provided as tailored services or deliverables.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Pion (the brand behind Student Beans) operates a verified-audience marketing platform that enables consumer brands to verify customer eligibility across 10 closed consumer groups (students, graduates, military, healthcare workers, first responders, teachers, new parents, charity workers, low income, disability) in 100+ countries, publish gated offers on its Student Beans and Beans iD marketplaces, and run advertising and creator campaigns to reach millions of pre-verified consumers. The platform combines consumer verification technology, a self-serve brand portal, proprietary transaction tracking, and advertising/media products.

Product overview

Pion operates as a verified-audience marketing platform combining verification, ownership, and reach capabilities. The platform consists of Student Beans (flagship student discount marketplace), Beans iD (verification technology for 10 consumer groups across 100+ countries), and YMS (youth marketing event platform). Additional modules include Own Your SEO, Own Your Branding, and Own Your Data for customer experience ownership, plus PION100 research reports, Student Beans Creators influencer campaigns, and Gen Z Insights research services. Pion Portal provides self-service analytics for brand partners. The May 2026 acquisition of Student Shopping Nights added experiential marketing capabilities with in-person activations at shopping centres nationwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Student Beans: World's leading student discount marketplace connecting brands with verified student audiences.
• Grad Beans
• Beans iD
• Voxburner
• YMS (Youth Marketing Strategy)
• Student Shopping Nights

Products and services

• Student Beans Marketplace Flagship verified student discount marketplace enabling brands to list exclusive offers for millions of verified student consumers; the primary acquisition channel for reaching student audiences on Pion.
• Beans iD Verification Platform Award-winning consumer verification technology confirming membership in 10 closed consumer groups (students, graduates, military, healthcare workers, first responders, teachers, new parents, charity workers, low income, disability) across 100+ countries via web, app, and in-store channels.
• YMS (Youth Marketing Strategy) Annual youth marketing festival held in London and New York featuring 75+ speakers across multiple stages delivering insights on Gen Z marketing trends, tools and connections.
• Pion Portal Self-service platform for brand partners to access offer performance data, consumer personal data, audience insights, and benchmarking data for marketing campaigns.
• PION100 Youth Marketing Benchmark Report Annual youth marketing benchmark report ranking top 100 brands among 16-24 year olds, with UK and US editions plus category-specific editions for food & drink, fashion, and beauty.
• Student Shopping Nights UK's largest student event network delivering high-impact student shopping nights at 15+ retail destinations with exclusive discounts, live entertainment, and engaging in-store experiences.
• Gen Z Insights (Voxburner) Youth marketing research service including youth trends reports, bespoke research projects, concept testing, creative testing, campaign effectiveness measurement, and the Ask a Gen Z monthly panel.
• Student Beans Creators Influencer and creator campaign program partnering brands with authentic student creators on TikTok and other platforms to deliver branded content with measurable impressions and clicks.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% uplift in likelihood of conversion after verification
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments13 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Student Shopping UKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 May 2026Acquired Student Shopping UK (SSUK), operator of Student Shopping Nights at 15+ UK shopping centres including Trafford Centre Manchester and St David's Cardiff. The acquisition brings physical retail footprint to Pion's digital verification platform, creating a unified sales ecosystem connecting campus life, in-person retail, and online engagement. Combined networks unlock access to 2M+ verified students through integrated loyalty loop.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Honey Science (PayPal): Honey is a mainstream coupon and cashback browser extension within PayPal; it competes for the same brand-affiliate and discount budgets Pion monetizes, but targets a broader consumer base without closed-group verification.
• Blackhawk Network: Blackhawk Network operates a large gift card, incentive and closed-loop discount distribution network used by global brands; comparable on the brand-promotion and closed-audience activation layer even if the channel mix differs.
• Rakuten (RetailMeNot): Rakuten's RetailMeNot is a broad coupon and offer marketplace used by major consumer brands; it competes with Pion's marketplace listings for brand digital-promotion budgets, though without Pion's identity-verification layer.

Emerging players

• Yippit: Yippit offers student cashback and discount tools on top of existing payment rails; emerging player with partial overlap on student-targeted offer discovery and affiliate economics.
• Student Beans/Graduateland: Graduateland (graduation-focused career and identity platform) intersects with Pion's graduate verification segment (Grad Beans) and student-to-graduate lifecycle; partial overlap on graduate-targeted offer programs.
• SaaSquatch / Friendbuy: Friendbuy powers referral and loyalty programs for direct-to-consumer brands; adjacent because Pion's "Own Your Data" CRM-syncing and loyalty-loop integrations increasingly overlap with referral/loyalty platforms.

Direct peers

• SheerID: SheerID is a leading digital identity verification platform that verifies closed consumer groups (students, military, teachers, healthcare workers, etc.) for brands; it directly competes with Beans iD on enterprise verification-as-a-service.
• UNiDAYS: UNiDAYS is the closest direct competitor, operating a global student verification and discount marketplace connecting brands with verified students; it competes head-to-head with Student Beans on enterprise verification, marketplace listings and student-targeted offers.
• ID.me: ID.me provides identity verification for multiple consumer segments (military, students, first responders, teachers, government employees) and powers discount and benefits programs; it competes with Pion on multi-group verification infrastructure.

Regional players

• Ogury: Ogury is a European mobile ad-tech platform with consumer-first data assets; comparable on the data-driven brand activation layer and EMEA-centric brand partnerships, though focused on mobile rather than closed-group identity.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Studentbeans Limited