dunnhumby is a United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

-based Retail media

Retail Media

Retail media is marketing to consumers at or near their point of purchase, or point of choice between competing brands or products. Common techniques include in-store advertising, on-line advertising, sampling, loyalty cards and coupons or vouchers....

 group, best known for being key to the creation of Tesco Clubcard

Tesco Clubcard

Tesco Clubcard is the loyalty card of leading British supermarket chain Tesco. The Clubcard scheme operates in the UK, Ireland, Poland and several other countries, and in the UK market in particular has been highly successful, with over 15 million members as of 2010.-History:In 1993 Terry Leahy...

. Currently a subsidiary of Tesco

Tesco

Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

, the company employs 1,200+ people in 30 countries.

The company was formed by husband and wife team Edwina Dunn and Clive Humby. Humby was a trained mathematician, and the couple both worked at Caci

CACI

CACI International Inc is a professional services and information technology company headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. CACI is a member of the Fortune 1000 Largest Companies and the Russell 2000 index. The company has approximately 13,700 employees in over 120 offices in the U.S. and...

. Wanting to start his own business, Humby resigned from Caci, and left on the day that Dunn was sacked. The couple, in collaboration with Terry Hunt, started dunnhumby in 1989 in the kitchen of their Ealing

Ealing

Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...

, West London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 home. The company began working with clients, including Cable & Wireless

Cable & Wireless

Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...

 and BMW

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

.
In 1994, Tesco who were second in the UK retail market to Sainsbury's, wanted to create a new loyalty card. The man responsible for Tesco's trials, Grant Harrison, attended a conference where Clive Humby was speaking. Harrison agreed a trial with Tesco's then marketing director Terry Leahy

Terry Leahy

Sir Terry Leahy is a former CEO of Tesco, the largest British supermarket chain.He lives in Cuffley, Hertfordshire, with his wife, Alison and his three children.- Early life :...

, and after successful trials throughout 1994, the company was asked to present their findings. The first response from the board came from Tesco's then-Chairman Lord MacLaurin

Ian MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth

Ian Charter MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth DL, is a British businessman who has been Chairman of Vodafone and Chairman and Chief Executive of Tesco. He is a former Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board and a former Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire.Ian MacLaurin was...

, who said "What scares me about this is that you know more about my customers after three months than I know after 30 years."

Today the company runs a 40-terabyte database, selling information to companies including Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....

, Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 and US retailer Kroger

Kroger

The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...

. Tesco bought a 53% stake in 2001 for a reported £30m, and increased this holding to 84% in 2006.

Dunn and Humby resigned from the company in October 2010, due to depart on April 2011, although they will remain non-executive directors.