Cases

How Matas built a personalization engine in their app

Written by Anna Ræbild | Apr 8, 2026 12:41:14 PM

We launched Adaptive Discovery and User Engagement in collaboration with Matas.

In their app, they have introduced a personalized inspiration feed built for the way their members actually browse. That kind of speed doesn't happen by accident. It happens when a team knows exactly what problem they're solving, and when the technology is genuinely ready to meet them there.

Two weeks after the launch of the feed, we sat down with Sofie Kowalewski Rasmussen, App Project Manager, to hear how her team explored the potential of shoppertainment - and how they worked with Relewise to turn that vision into a personalized discovery experience.  

Matas is a Danish retailer and a go-to destination for all things health and beauty. With 265 stores across Denmark and over a million weekly web visitors, they've built one of the country's most recognizable retail brands. Their omnichannel model is well-established - online sales now account for 27% of total revenue, backed by a customer club of over 2 million members.

But one gap remained, and it sat right at the heart of the app experience.

 

 

That insight shaped how Sofie's team thought about the app. If a member's mindset shifts multiple times throughout the day, a static app experience will only ever catch them in one of those moments.

 

Inspiration without a home  

The content already existed. Articles, live formats, social channels. But that content had a visibility problem.

Inside the app, content felt static, hard to discover organically, and not quite built for the way people actually browse on their phones. Members often arrive knowing exactly what they want - but even then, there's an opportunity to catch their attention and inspire them to discover something new.

The app was strong at serving the intent they came with. The challenge was also sparking curiosity beyond it.

Sofie and her team knew that closing this gap wasn't just a design challenge. It required real-time personalization at scale - content and products surfacing based on what each member actually cares about.

From static to dynamic with Relewise

Sofie's team partnered with Relewise to bring Adaptive Discovery and User Engagement into the app. The result was an endless scroll inspiration feed - content and personalized product recommendations in a single flow.

The implementation was built in stages in close collaboration with Relewise. Sofie and her team shipped an MVP and adjusted from there, and moved quickly without drifting from what Matas actually stands for.

One thing that mattered throughout: the feed had to feel true to the brand. The brand's voice and standards had to stay intact. Even user-generated content was reviewed before going live. Relewise gave the team the flexibility to keep that control intact while the recommendation engine ran underneath.

A reason to come back

The feed is still early, but the signals are encouraging and point in a clear direction. Members are clicking, spending time, and using actions like liking and saving – behavioral signals that indicate genuine engagement, not just passive scrolling.

Today, the app has become a place where discovery happens and where a member can move from not knowing what they need - to finding exactly that, without ever leaving the app. Fewer dead ends, more time spent, more reasons to come back.

What this points to

This case is still early, so it is best read as a story about direction and intent rather than one built on hard performance data. Even so, the early signs are encouraging. The feed gives the app a broader role in the customer journey, creating room for discovery, guidance, and product recommendations - all within the same flow.

Looking ahead, Sofie and her team see more potential in the same direction: greater real-time personalization, more content types, and more ways for members to save, share, and learn from what they find in the app.

Shoppertainment works when it is grounded in relevance and shaped around what makes a brand genuinely useful. In the Matas app, that means bringing trusted guidance into a feed experience that feels more natural, more engaging, and more aligned with how people actually browse today.