Revenues have grown at product sampling innovator SoPost, as the agency's founder says it is on track to return to profit this year.
The Newcastle-based firm, which serves clients across the world via a network of offices, uses digital technology to target consumers with samples on behalf of big brands, capturing feedback and data. Amid a move to new New York offices, the firm's 2024 accounts were published showing revenue grew from £18.5m to £19.9m and operating losses narrowed from £1.2m to £517,000.
Founder Jonny Grubin told BusinessLive his business had taken a "massive step" forward and that it is now growing at a faster rate than it did last year. He said: "Coming out of Covid in 2024 and 2025 we had a lot of big plans and changes we were making, and some of them have taken longer to bring to fruition than others. But we've pretty much completed all of the structural changes we wanted to make and have a really solid team in place with a big focus on the core markets."
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Mr Grubin, who launched SoPost in 2014 having dropped out of university, said the firm was still eyeing opportunities in a number of as yet untapped global markets, such as India, but that more recent efforts had been turned to SoPost's key territories, particularly in Europe and the US where the business is "already winning".
He said: "That's bearing fruit for us - not only in terms of the sales growth but also in the profitability and efficiency that's creating for us. What we're seeing in the market more generally, from a sampling perspective, is - even more so than a couple of years ago - this is all just becoming table stakes and particularly in a challenging macro environment where everyone is pulling their hair out about tariffs and other things.
"The fact that we're still growing and we're able to do so in a really efficient way says a lot about the value that our customers see in what we're doing, but also the massive potential that this space still has. I always look at it and think we're growing quickly, but there's so much white space and that's pretty cool for me to see."
Mr Grubin hinted that a number of major partnerships could be in the offing in coming months, that would cement SoPost as a market leader. That comes while the business is seeing a return to more normal market conditions following uncertainty ceded by the sweeping introduction of US tariffs in April.
Financials for SoPost come as the firm's 12-strong New York team has moved into new offices in The Malin building, in the city's Flatiron District and just a few blocks from the landmark building itself. It marks a move from the SoHo area and before that, SoPost's first outpost in the Big Apple, in the iconic Empire State Building where one of its early investors was based.
The shift to the Broadway address has been designed to give SoPost's hybrid team more flexibility, with two private rooms and shared communal areas. It is one of several global offices including the firm's Newcastle headquarters, along with London, Paris and Frankfurt.