Personalised e-commerce packaging start-up Penny Black has raised a further £1.3m after going independent from Agfa in April 2022.

Penny Black’s platform integrates with retailers’ e-commerce platforms - like Shopify - to provide them with personalised packaging for each customer. 

It sets up its own printing technology - developed with Agfa - in the client brand's fulfilment centre, whether in-house or at a third party logistics partner.

The company has marketed itself on the idea that the packaging for an e-commerce product is the only space for marketing that offers a 100% open rate - and has claimed to provide an average ROI of 300% for its customers.

Douglas Franklin, Penny Black’s CEO, said: “The meteoric rise of e-commerce means that packaging is quickly becoming the only physical contact brands have with their customer. This makes it a hugely influential content channel in its own right, which until now has been staggeringly under-utilised due to the complexity of personalising the fulfilment process. 

“Attracting this latest funding will support us to deepen the platforms we integrate with, strengthen our relationships with our fulfilment partners, and allow brands to use the unboxing moment to secure repeat and recurring revenue.”

Penny Black started life in Agfa’s innovation lab, supported by Dutch venture capital firm Ninepointfive. This most recent funding round saw a continued investment of £650,000 from both Agfa and Ninepointfive.

It employs 11 staff at its base in London.

Pieter Van de Velde, founding partner of Ninepointfive, said that Penny Black was succeeding in delivering a vital physical touchpoint for reaching customers.

“In a blink of an eye, Penny Black has steadily secured its position in the e-commerce ecosystem; as VC we are delighted with its success and look forward to enabling its future growth.”

One of Penny Black’s clients is luxury jewellery and watch retailer, Paul Valentine.

Stefanie Donat, Paul Valentine’s head of supply chain and logistics, said: “Using Penny Black’s technology, we can deliver truly personalised, on-brand experiences that create immediate impact.

“Using Penny Black’s personalised approach we have seen 7% scan rates, resulting in a 15% conversion rate on second purchases.”