Whistl piles on Relish for fresh FMCG sampling drive

Whistl, the mail and parcels to e-fulfilment business, has agreed a deal with Kin + Carta to acquire its FMCG product sampling specialist Relish, as part of plans to expand its in-home sampling services.

Launched in 2011, it is claimed Relish has grown to be one of the leading product sampling agencies specialising mainly in the beauty and FMCG sectors.

The company enables brands to target consumers through matching them with synergistic partners, by placing a sample for a perfume brand within an online fashion delivery, for instance. Its customers include ASOS, BakedIn, Craft Gin Club, Deliveroo, Estee Lauder, Edgewell, Ferrero, HelloFresh, Missguided (pictured) and PrettyLittleThing.

Through this acquisition, Whistl is able to expand the range of channels available to its customers when planning their in-home sampling campaigns. Relish will remain as a standalone brand with its 20+ team, led by joint managing directors Natalie Betts and Jonny Hall.

The company will report into Whistl Doordrop Media managing director Mark Davies.

Whistl chief executive Nick Wells said: “Product sampling plays an important role within the marketing mix and with our market leading expertise in targeting and campaign planning, particularly for online retailers and FMCG brands, the addition of Relish will enable us to broaden our portfolio of channels available to advertisers.

“The acquisition highlights our unique expertise and ability to help brands across the whole e-commerce journey, from targeting customers to fulfilling orders through to delivery management to the consumers door.

“We are looking forward to the Relish team joining us and they will be located with our team based at our new Bristol office.”

Kin + Carta CEO J Schwan added: “Whistl Doordrop Media is the perfect partner for the Relish team and we are sure they will continue to grow and develop under new ownership as part of the Whistl Group. I’d like to thank Jonny and Natalie for their leadership and the entire Relish team for their contribution to Kin + Carta.”