What BARE International does

BARE International is a customer experience research and measurement firm founded in 1987 as Restaurant and Hospitality Services (RHS) by Mike and Dale Bare, rebranded in 1999, and headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. The company provides mystery shopping, customer satisfaction surveys, business intelligence reporting, online reputation management, self-audit tools, and fieldwork support services to enterprise clients across verticals including automotive, hospitality, retail, financial services, franchise organizations, and healthcare. Operations span 165+ countries through a distributed network of 500,000+ independent contractor evaluators, completing more than 250,000 evaluations annually and 50,000+ audits per month.

Service delivery is enabled by a proprietary technology stack: the BARE Insights Dashboard for enterprise reporting, Apollo and Shopmetrics for evaluator management, iSecretShop for U.S. and Canada-based mystery shoppers, and the Insights Portal powered by Prism Intelligence for client program access. BARE-IFY Pulse® is a self-audit mobile and web application priced at approximately $25 per inspection, featuring a drag-and-drop checklist builder and analytics dashboard. BARE Genie, a GPT-powered AI chatbot, supports evaluator onboarding. Tipalti integration handles global evaluator payment processing. The company holds ISO certification (2023) and 12 consecutive years of MSPA Elite Status, alongside Inc. 5000 (2026), WBJ Fastest Growing (2025), and EcoVadis Sustainability Medal recognition.

The business model combines professional services (mystery shopping projects, quote-based pricing tied to scope and geography), recurring subscriptions (satisfaction surveys, business intelligence dashboards, reputation management), managed services (fieldwork support for research partners), and unit pricing (self-audit tool). Go-to-market is direct enterprise sales with multi-year contracts, supported by industry event presence, association memberships (ESOMAR, NRF, MSPA, CXPA, IHRSA, NACS, HFTP, ISHC), and a multi-language website in six languages. Average client tenure exceeds 8 years versus an industry benchmark of 2 years. The company is privately held and family-owned, with multi-generational leadership (founders Mike and Dale Bare; son Jason Bare as President) and 251-500 employees.

Name

BARE International

Legal name

BARE International

Website

https://bareinternational.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

BARE International is a privately held, family-owned customer experience research firm operating in 165+ countries, providing mystery shopping, satisfaction surveys, business intelligence, and reputation management to enterprise clients across retail, hospitality, automotive, and financial services verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Customer Experience Research

NAICS

Investigation and Security Services (5616)

akta.pro primary industry

Undercover Operations & Integrity Shopping (Internal Theft Testing) (BPAKAJAI)

Keywords

• Mystery shopping services
• Customer experience research
• Satisfaction surveys
• Brand compliance audits
• Market research fieldwork

Headquarters

HQ city

Fairfax

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Mystery Shopping Services: Customized mystery shopping programs where trained evaluators anonymously assess customer experiences across physical locations, phone interactions, websites, and mobile apps. Revenue generated per-project with fees varying by scope, difficulty, and geographic reach. Programs include in-person visits, phone evaluations, and web assessments.
2. Satisfaction Surveys: Customer satisfaction survey deployment through multiple channels (SMS, Email, Website, SDK, Phone, Geolocation, Flash Feedback). Includes CSAT surveys, employee experience surveys, and microshop surveys (InstaShops) with photo/video capabilities. Typically subscription-based with recurring deployment.
3. Business Intelligence & Reporting: Advanced data analytics and reporting services including executive summary reports, KPI tracking, trend analysis, and custom business intelligence modeling. Revenue from reporting platform access and analytical services.
4. Fieldwork Support Services: Research partnership services providing global field force access (500,000+ evaluators across 220+ countries) for market research companies. Operates 7 days a week, 24 hours daily with 14-day project turnaround capability.
5. Online Reputation Management: Digital brand management platform monitoring brand mentions across web, social media, and review sites. Includes sentiment analytics, competitor benchmarking, and social media engagement tools. Typically subscription-based.
6. BARE-IFY Self-Audit Tool: Self-audit inspection application at approximately $25 per use, enabling organizations to conduct internal compliance verification and store operations monitoring through mobile devices.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

BARE International is a customer experience measurement firm that designs and operates mystery shopping programs, satisfaction surveys, business intelligence reporting, online reputation management, and self-audit inspections for enterprise clients. Evaluators are dispatched across 165+ countries to anonymously assess in-store, phone, web, and mobile customer interactions, with results delivered through proprietary analytics dashboards. The firm also provides fieldwork support services to other market research companies, leveraging its global evaluator network of 500,000+ independent contractors.

Product overview

BARE International is a customer experience research company offering a portfolio of services centered on mystery shopping, satisfaction surveys, and business intelligence. The core offering is Mystery Shopping, complemented by Satisfaction Surveys (deployed via SMS, email, phone, and geolocation), Business Intelligence dashboards for reporting and analytics, Fieldwork Support Services for research partnerships, and Social Reputation+ Management for online brand monitoring across 50+ platforms. Supporting infrastructure includes evaluator platforms (Apollo, Shopmetrics, iSecretShop, Insights) and the BARE-IFY Pulse® self-audit mobile application. The company operates in 165+ countries with 500,000+ evaluators completing 250,000+ evaluations annually. BARE Genie provides AI chatbot support for evaluator inquiries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mystery Shopping Trained evaluators anonymously assess customer experience across physical locations, phone interactions, websites, and mobile apps, measuring employee performance, brand standard compliance, sales effectiveness, and customer satisfaction for enterprise clients.
• Satisfaction Surveys Customer experience survey programs deployed via SMS, email, website, SDK plug-ins, phone, geolocation, flash feedback stands, and QR codes, including CSAT and employee experience surveys for enterprise clients.
• Business Intelligence Analytics and reporting service providing bespoke web-based dashboards, executive reports, hierarchical data visualization, trend analysis, and customizable KPI tracking that aggregates customer experience data across all program methodologies.
• Fieldwork Support Services Research partnership service providing global field force support with 500,000+ evaluators across 220+ countries, enabling market research companies to meet data collection objectives with 14-day project turnaround capability.
• Social Reputation+ Management Digital brand management and online reputation monitoring service aggregating customer reviews from 50+ platforms including Yelp, Google, and TripAdvisor into a unified dashboard, with sentiment analytics, review response tools, and social media content management.
• BARE-IFY Pulse Self-Audit Self-audit mobile and web application enabling organizations to build customizable checklists, assign action plans, and generate analytics for internal compliance verification and store operations monitoring, with a drag-and-drop form builder and pre-created template library.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8+ years average client relationships vs. 2-year industry average
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ESOMARcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal research community membership providing access to industry standards, best practices, and professional development resources for market research practitioners.
• NRF (National Retail Federation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor retail industry association membership connecting BARE with retail sector trends, standards, and industry leadership opportunities.
• MSPA (Mystery Shopping Providers Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association membership with Elite Status certification for 12 consecutive years. Provides industry standards, evaluator certification programs, and industry advocacy.
• CXPA (Customer Experience Professionals Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional association for customer experience practitioners providing networking, training, and industry thought leadership resources.
• ISHC (International Safety & Health Council)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSafety and health certification body relevant to workplace and hospitality industry audit services.
• HFTP (Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHospitality industry association providing technology and financial standards for hotel and restaurant audit services.
• IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth club and fitness industry association supporting mystery shopping programs for gym and fitness center clients.
• NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvenience store industry association supporting retail and compliance audit programs.
• Car Wash AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association for car wash operators supporting service quality measurement programs.
• Market Research Companies (Fieldwork Partners)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorB2B partnerships with top research companies providing global field force access for data collection. BARE's network of 500,000+ evaluators across 220+ countries is utilized by partners to meet their client research objectives with 14-day project deployment capability.
• TipalticoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing platform partner for evaluator compensation. Handles electronic payments, tax documentation (W9/W8), and payment reconciliation for global evaluator workforce.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Market Force Information: Market Force Information is a direct competitor providing mystery shopping, customer experience surveys, and retail audit services to multi-location operators. Comparable in customer base and service mix to BARE.
• MaritzCX: MaritzCX is a direct competitor providing customer experience research, mystery shopping, and CX program management for automotive, retail, and hospitality verticals. Comparable in service mix, target customer profile, and family-history orientation.
• BestMark: BestMark is a direct competitor in mystery shopping and customer experience evaluation services, serving restaurants, retail, and hospitality clients with a nationwide network of evaluators. Comparable in service offering and target customer base.
• Second to None: Second to None is a direct peer in mystery shopping, customer experience, and brand standards evaluation, serving multi-unit operators in retail, hospitality, and healthcare. Comparable in service portfolio and execution model.
• IntelliShop: IntelliShop is a direct competitor in B2B mystery shopping and customer experience measurement, serving enterprise clients with similar in-person and phone-based evaluation methodologies. Comparable in offering mix and target verticals.
• SMG (Service Management Group): SMG is one of the largest direct competitors to BARE in customer experience measurement, offering mystery shopping, CX analytics, and brand performance tracking to enterprise retail, restaurant, and consumer clients. Operates with comparable multi-vertical focus and similar tech-enabled reporting platforms.

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos: Ipsos is a global market research incumbent that competes with BARE in customer satisfaction tracking and brand research, serving many of the same enterprise verticals. Much larger scale and broader service portfolio; BARE is a specialist where Ipsos is a generalist.
• Kantar: Kantar is a global research and data analytics incumbent with brand and customer experience measurement offerings that overlap with BARE's survey and BI products. A much larger, broader competitor, but with less focus on mystery-shopping-led evaluation.

Emerging players

• Medallia (NICE): Medallia is an enterprise experience management platform that competes with BARE's Business Intelligence and survey products, with deep enterprise client overlap in retail, hospitality, and financial services. Pure software model contrasts with BARE's services-led offering.
• Qualtrics (SAP): Qualtrics is a dominant CX software platform that competes with BARE in customer satisfaction surveys, employee experience, and analytics, though with a digital-software model rather than human-evaluator mystery shopping. Represents a structural disruptor to traditional mystery shopping programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bare.international
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bare-international
• Instagraminstagram.com/bare_international
• Xx.com/bare_intl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BARE International