Black Swan

About Black Swan

Black Swan is a data science and technology company that offers a consumer intelligence and social prediction platform. Founded in 2011 by Steve King and Hugo Amos, the company originated from an idea sketched on a beer mat in a Toronto bar to find better ways to connect data silos and anticipate consumer demand. The company was acquired by Mintel, a global leader in market intelligence, in June 2025.

Black Swan's core offering is its proprietary SaaS platform, Trendscope. This platform utilizes artificial intelligence, including natural language processing and machine learning, to analyze millions of real-time, publicly available consumer conversations from social media, blogs, and news sources. By transforming this unstructured data into refined datasets, Trendscope can predict consumer behavior and emerging trends with a reported 89% accuracy up to six months in advance. This service enables clients to identify untapped opportunities, de-risk decision-making for new product launches, and make more informed marketing and supply chain decisions.

The company serves major global brands primarily in the consumer packaged goods (CPG), food and beverage, and personal care sectors. Notable clients have included PepsiCo, Unilever, Disney, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, and Kraft Heinz. Its business model is software-as-a-service (SaaS), providing clients with subscription-based access to the Trendscope platform. Prior to its acquisition, Black Swan had raised significant funding, including a $18.5 million growth investment in 2022 led by Oxx, with participation from investors like AlbionVC, Blackstone, and Mitsui.

Headquartered in London, Black Swan has established a global presence with offices in New York, Budapest, and South Africa. The acquisition by Mintel is set to combine Mintel's market intelligence expertise with Black Swan's AI-driven predictive analytics to create a more comprehensive foresight capability for clients. Black Swan continues to operate as a standalone business within Mintel.