# Citee Index Taxonomy

> Category list, tier system, and scan cadence per tier. Live document — updated as new categories are added or existing ones are reclassified.

**Last updated:** 2026-05-03 (v1.0.0)

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## Tier system

Categories are classified by **market depth** (number of visible brands) and **GMV** (PLN annual e-commerce volume in category).

| Tier | Criteria | Scan cadence | Brands tracked per cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Tier 1 — Large** | >1000 brands visible, >100M PLN GMV | Monthly | 100 |
| **Tier 2 — Medium** | 100–1000 brands, 10–100M PLN GMV | Quarterly | 50–100 |
| **Tier 3 — Niche** | <100 brands, <10M PLN GMV | Semi-annual | 20–50 |

Cross-cutting categories (e.g., "Polish DTC brands Top 100", "Polish handmade Top 100") are published **annually** as flagship reports.

## Country coverage

| Country | Status | First publication |
|---|---|---|
| **PL** (Poland) | Pilot — 11 categories | August 2026 |
| **DE** (Germany) | Planned Q4 2026 | — |
| **AT** (Austria) | Planned with DE | — |
| **CH** (Switzerland) | Planned with DE | — |
| **CZ** (Czech Republic) | Planned Q1 2027 | — |
| **SK** (Slovakia) | Planned Q1 2027 | — |
| **HU** (Hungary) | Planned Q2 2027 | — |
| **RO** (Romania) | Planned Q2 2027 | — |
| **DK / SE / NO / FI** (Nordic) | Planned Q3 2027 | — |
| FR / ES / IT | Year 2 | — |
| UK / US (English-speaking) | **Not in roadmap.** Heavy competition (Profound, Otterly, AthenaHQ). Citee focuses on markets where local language and brand knowledge create defensible moat. | — |

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## PL — pilot categories (Tier 2)

All 11 launch categories scan quarterly. Selection criteria: each ranked brand is a potential Citee Pro customer (DTC consumer brands or service businesses with marketing budgets), zero overlap with B2B SaaS competitors of LMW Commerce.

| # | Category slug | Display name | Sample brands | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | `kosmetyki-naturalne-pl` | Kosmetyki naturalne | Resibo, Tołpa, Yope, Bielenda, Dr Irena Eris, Vianek, Lirene | Premium DTC, brand-conscious vendors |
| 2 | `suplementy-nutricosmetyki-pl` | Suplementy / nutricosmetyki | Olimp, Trec, OstroVit, Allnutrition, Health Labs Care, NaturDay, Pharmovit | DTC growth segment, marketing-heavy |
| 3 | `diety-pudelkowe-pl` | Diety pudełkowe / catering dietetyczny | Maczfit, Nice To Fit You, Fit&Easy, BistroBox, Light Box | Subscription DTC, high LTV |
| 4 | `premium-pet-food-pl` | Premium pet food / akcesoria | Brit Care, Acana, Animonda, Royal Canin, Josera, Belcando, Pies Pisany | Loyal customers, premium pricing |
| 5 | `kawa-specialty-pl` | Kawa specialty / gourmet | Coffee Plant, Bonjour Cafe, Etno Cafe, Hard Beans, Coffeedesk, Cafezal | Vocal community, Reddit-rich |
| 6 | `czekolada-rzemieslnicza-pl` | Czekolada rzemieślnicza / premium | Manufaktura Czekolady, Mount Blanc, Wawel premium, Ujejski, Wedel exclusive | Premium DTC lifestyle |
| 7 | `kursy-programowania-bootcampy-pl` | Kursy programowania / IT bootcampy | Kodilla, Coders Lab, Boring Owl, Future Collars, SDA, WSB Online, Akademia Górska | High-LTV edutech, growing 2026 |
| 8 | `kliniki-estetyczne-dermo-pl` | Kliniki estetyczne / dermatologia premium | Klinika La Perla, Medilumi, Klinika Holistic, Estetica, Dermika | Service business, leadgen-driven |
| 9 | `fitness-studios-premium-pl` | Fitness studios / personal training | Calypso, Pure Jatomi, Fabric Health Club, niche premium studios | Subscription model, vocal community |
| 10 | `kosmetyki-meskie-pl` | Kosmetyki dla mężczyzn / męska pielęgnacja | Bartholomew, Chytry Lis, Onlomen, Ziaja Yego, Nivea Men premium, Lirene Men | Growing 2026 segment, new DTC entrants |
| 11 | `swiece-sojowe-pl` | Świece sojowe | JAKULO, Naturaodpauli, Bookiet, Triny, Aromatowo, Yush, Oskiknot, LemonGlas, Paleta Smaków, Bennovate | Pilot test bed + LMW founder pet category |

## Excluded from pilot — explicit rationale

| Category | Why excluded |
|---|---|
| Wino / alkohol PL | Polish "Ustawa o wychowaniu w trzeźwości" art. 13¹ restricts alcohol advertising — regulatory risk too high |
| Rękodzieło / handmade / Etsy crowd | Margins 20-30%, micro-businesses won't pay 449 PLN/mo for visibility tools |
| B2B SaaS (CRM, marketing automation, e-commerce platforms) | LMW Commerce competes in adjacent space — these vendors won't pay Citee competitor; also they have own visibility tools |
| Hosting / domeny | Vendors with own marketing teams, low conversion to Pro SaaS |
| Banki / ubezpieczenia / fintech B2B | Buyers of reports (agencies) but ranked brands won't buy Pro — banks have enterprise marketing tools |

## Q3-Q4 2026 expansion candidates (Tier 1, monthly scan)

To be added after pilot validation:

- Kosmetyki ogólne (mainstream, not just naturalne) — mega rynek
- Odzież dziecięca DTC
- Dom & ogród / wyposażenie wnętrz
- Elektronika audio premium
- Akcesoria biurowe / papiernicze B2B-light

## Cross-cutting flagship reports (annual)

- "Citee Index — Polski DTC e-commerce Top 100" (year-end)
- "Citee Index — Polski handmade Top 50" (year-end)
- "Citee Index — Polski D2C lifestyle ecosystem" (mid-year)

These reports cut across categories to identify the strongest brand presences in AI search overall, regardless of vertical.

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## Adding a new category — checklist

Before adding a category to active scan, the following must be true:

1. **Market depth** — at least 20 brands with internet presence visible in PL e-commerce
2. **AI search demand** — Google Trends data confirms users search for category-related queries
3. **Buyer profile** — ranked brands fit potential Citee Pro customer persona OR clear agency/media buyer for reports
4. **No regulatory risk** — category is not subject to advertising restrictions (alcohol, gambling, prescription pharma, etc.)
5. **Prompt curation feasible** — buyer personas identifiable, decision factors articulable, expert reviewer available if outside founder's domain knowledge
6. **Category integrated with brand catalog** — minimum 30 brands cataloged with normalized names (handling variations: "JAKULO" vs "Jakulo" vs "jakulo.pl")

When all 6 are true, category enters the pilot validation cycle (3 cycles minimum before public publication).

## Versioning

Changes to this taxonomy are tracked in [CHANGELOG.md](./CHANGELOG.md). Adding a new category, reclassifying tier, or removing a category constitutes a MINOR version bump. Adding a new country or fundamentally revising the tier system is a MAJOR version bump.