Powering the Growth of Vink – A Unilever Spin-Out

ROLES

Backend architecture & development, API design & frontend integration, Authentication and security management, development of internal Admin dashboard for application management and analytics, On-site developer support, Agile sprint-based delivery

STACK

Node.js, React Native, PostgreSQL, AWS, Terraform, Serverless Framework, GitHub Actions, ElasticSeach

Overview

As part of Unilever’s innovation strategy, they launched Vink, a digital spin-out company based in Amsterdam, designed to engage a fast-growing consumer segment: super shoppers, bargain hunters who actively seek cashback offers, coupon codes, and savings opportunities.

Vink allowed users to create a shareable “live” shopping list that combined products from more than 14 retailers and allowed users to see what was on discount where and when as well as receive just in time notifications when new offers arrived for their favourite products. . To bring this idea to life, Unilever partnered with Developyn through an intermediary to lead the Cloud Infrastructure & Data Pipeline designs and backend development and ensure seamless integration with a React Native mobile frontend.

The Challenge

Unilever needed to move fast and build a solid platform that could:

Handle a high volume of product searches
Aggregate a high volume of fast changing data sources
Seamlessly connect a React Native mobile app with backend services
Support sharing of and collaborative editing of a shared data structure (the shopping lists)
Send large amounts of user specific notifications to devices
Scale rapidly to serve tens of thousands of users
Operate reliably and compliantly in a live market environment
Support on-site collaboration in Amsterdam to align with the startup’s pace and vision

Our Solution

1. Cloud Infrastructure and Backend Development

Developyn designed and implemented the Cloud Infrastructure and backend architecture that powered Vink, including:

User registration and authentication
Retailer product and discount data collection, ingestion and aggregation
Highly available and intuitive multi-lingual search engine
Notification and user preference matching engine
Operational Transformation to support real time collaboration of multiple users editing the same shopping list
Admin dashboards for application management and data quality assurance
A serverless microservice approach comprising 100% of AWS services for consistency and to reduce management overhead and leverage scalability options

The system was built for both performance and modularity, enabling fast pivots and quick launches of new features.

2. Frontend Integration Support

We worked closely with the frontend team to:

Develop secure, RESTful APIs used by the React Native app
Ensure real-time updates for shopping list updates
Fast and responsive product search results including user relevant product discount information
Support an intuitive and responsive user experience across devices

3. On-Site Embedded Developer

To maximise collaboration and responsiveness, Developyn placed a developer on-site in Amsterdam.
This allowed us to:

Participate in daily standups and planning meetings
Rapidly test and roll out features
Serve as a direct bridge between product, development, and business teams

Results

50,000+ users across the Netherlands within months of launch seeing up to 1000 sign-ups daily
Seamless backend–frontend integration for a real-time search
Agile delivery cycles enabling fast iteration and feature expansion
Acquired for a significant sum (estimated €1M+), validating product-market fit

What Unilever Said

“When James joined our project, he started adding value from day one. You can pretty much throw anything at him and he will gladly take the challenge.Never afraid to involve others, ask questions or use the whiteboard. He finds his way to solving complex problems in a quick and effective manner and makes sure the whole team is on board. It was a true pleasure working with you.” – Unilever

From Our Team

“Being part of a high-velocity, consumer-facing product like Vink was an exciting challenge. Our embedded approach in Amsterdam allowed us to collaborate closely, iterate rapidly, and build a backend platform that could scale with demand and deliver meaningful value to users.” – Melvyn Mathews, CEO, Developyn