OPINION

What OPINION does

OPINION Market Research & Consulting GmbH is a German full-service market research institute founded in 1996 and headquartered in Nuremberg. The firm specializes in ad hoc and tracking studies for consumer-products decision-making, serving over 100 national and international brands primarily across FMCG verticals including food, beverages, cosmetics, body care, baby food, building materials, and household products. Its service portfolio spans the full product lifecycle, covering concept testing, product testing, product tracking, pricing research (van Westendorp, Gabor Granger, conjoint), scent testing, portfolio optimization, U&A studies, claims testing, advertising and brand tracking, brand positioning, package testing, ingredient checks, shopper research, promotion testing, personas development, customer satisfaction measurement, and ethnographic research.

The firm's methodology stack combines quantitative techniques (multivariate analyses in SPSS, Stata, R) with qualitative approaches (online communities, home-use tests, in-depth interviews) augmented by AI-supported processes such as synthetic persona generation, automated transcriptions, data enrichments, and quality controls. Proprietary tools include the Claim Selector (MaxDiff-based persuasive claim identification), the Portfolio Optimizer (TURF/MaxDiff/segmentation for assortment optimization), and the Customer Satisfaction Management Tool (measure-compare-understand triad with internal/external benchmarking). International research is delivered through The Research Alliance, a global network of independent ESOMAR-member institutes.

OPINION operates a project-based B2B professional services model with sales-led go-to-market targeting enterprise and mid-market clients. Fees are custom-quoted by scope (methodology, sample, deliverables, timeline), with payments structured as full prepayment for projects up to €10,000 and 50/50 milestone billing for larger engagements. The company has been part of the INTEGRAL-SINUS-OPINION Group since 2021, sitting alongside sister institutes INTEGRAL (Vienna) and SINUS (Heidelberg/Berlin) under the holding INTEGRAL-SINUS GmbH. Management has been refreshed in 2025-2026 with two new Managing Director appointments (Rebecca Schapat-Knoll, Nicole Mey) replacing and augmenting the prior team, including the announced departure of Managing Director Michael Blum.

Name

OPINION

Legal name

OPINION Market Research & Consulting GmbH

Website

https://opinion.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OPINION Market Research & Consulting GmbH is a Nuremberg-based full-service market research institute, founded in 1996, specializing in ad hoc and tracking studies for over 100 enterprise FMCG brands across food, beverages, cosmetics, and household products, using quantitative, qualitative, and AI-augmented methodologies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Syndicated Market Research (Panels, Omnibus, Tracker Studies) (MPAAALAB), Customer Experience (CX) & Voice of Customer (NPS/CSAT, Journey Research) (MPAAALAH), Qualitative Research (Focus Groups, IDIs, Ethnography) (MPAAALAE), Behavioral & Neuroscience Research (Biometrics, Eye-Tracking, Neuromarketing) (MPAAALAN)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Consumer behavior analysis
• Product testing
• Brand tracking
• FMCG insights

Headquarters

HQ city

Nuremberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Market Research Services: Custom project-based market research and consulting services. Fees are quoted based on project requirements including background, aims, methodology, scope, delivery timeline, and scope of work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

OPINION is a full-service market research institute providing custom ad hoc and tracking studies for consumer products companies, predominantly in the FMCG sector. Its services cover the entire product lifecycle, from concept testing, product and packaging testing, pricing and scent research, to brand and advertising tracking, shopper research, customer satisfaction, ethnographic studies, and international research delivered through The Research Alliance network.

Product overview

OPINION is a full-service market research institute based in Nürnberg, Germany, specializing in ad hoc and tracking studies for over 100 national and international brands. Founded in 1996 and part of the INTEGRAL-SINUS-OPINION Group representing over 100 years of combined research experience, OPINION operates primarily in the FMCG sector (food & beverages, cosmetics, household products) as well as pharmaceuticals, energy, tourism, banking, and telecommunications. The company offers a comprehensive suite of research services spanning the entire product lifecycle, including Concept Testing, Product Testing, Product Tracking, Pricing Research, Scent Testing, Portfolio Analysis, U&A Studies, Claims Testing, Advertising Tracking, Brand Tracking, Brand Positioning, Package Testing, Advertising Tests, Ingredient Checks, Shopper Research, Promotion Testing, Personas, Customer Satisfaction, and Ethnographic Research. OPINION combines traditional market research methodologies with AI-powered approaches including synthetic personas, targeting systems, data enrichments, quality controls, and automated transcriptions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Concept Testing

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 national and international brands served
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• INTEGRALcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister institute based in Vienna, Austria. Part of INTEGRAL-SINUS-OPINION Group. Full-service market research institute specializing in economics, technology, digitalization, regionality, mobility, communication, financial services, customer satisfaction, customer journey, and branch monitoring.
• SINUScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister institute based in Heidelberg and Berlin, Germany. Specializes in society and values research, politics, religion, migration, future and trends, ethnography, life world research, and vulnerable target groups. Developer of the Sinus-Milieus model.
• SINUS-AkademieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBased in Heidelberg, offers lectures, workshops, and further training programs in market and social research.
• SINUS-ConsultminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrand and business consulting subsidiary of SINUS operating in the APAC region, established in Singapore in 2014.
• Michael Bauer Micromarketing (MBM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecializes in microgeographic analyses and geo-marketing. Opened in Düsseldorf in 2020 with 25% participation by INTEGRAL-SINUS.
• The Research AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal network of independent market research institutes in Europe, USA, South America, Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Enables global market research with local expertise in individual markets. All partners share enthusiasm for high-quality market research and are ESOMAR members.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GfK (now part of NIQ/NielsenIQ): GfK was Germany's flagship market research institute and is now part of NielsenIQ, the global FMCG-focused measurement giant. Directly comparable to OPINION on consumer goods research, but at vastly greater scale and with syndicated panel data as a recurring-revenue anchor that OPINION lacks.
• Ipsos: Global market research and consulting firm with strong FMCG, advertising, and brand-tracking practices that directly overlap OPINION's core offerings. Ipsos competes for the same enterprise brand clients but with broader geographic coverage and syndicated products.
• Kantar: One of the world's largest research, data, and insights companies, with deep FMCG, brand, and shopper research practices. Kantar competes for the same multinational brand-tracking and innovation work as OPINION but with proprietary syndicated panels and at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Produkt + Markt: German full-service market research institute specializing in consumer and B2B research, with similar FMCG product-testing, packaging-testing, and brand-tracking offerings. Closely comparable in size, geography, and service mix to OPINION, making it the most direct German mid-market peer.
• Psyma Group: Mid-sized German market research firm with comparable ad hoc and tracking capabilities across consumer goods, healthcare, and industrial sectors. Directly competes for the same enterprise and mid-market FMCG research budgets in the D-A-CH region.
• IfD Allensbach: One of Germany's oldest and most established market research institutes, with a long-standing reputation in consumer and social research. Overlaps with OPINION on ad hoc consumer research, though with more emphasis on public opinion and long-running tracking studies.
• Skopos Market Research: German market research institute with strong consumer insights, brand, and shopper research practices. Comparable in size and D-A-CH focus, serving overlapping FMCG and retail clients with quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

Emerging players

• Eye Square: Berlin-based research firm specializing in implicit/behavioral measurement including eye-tracking, biometrics, and neuromarketing. Partial overlap with OPINION's Scent Testing and packaging research, but focused on the implicit-methodology niche.
• Conjointly: Self-service consumer research platform offering DIY concept testing, MaxDiff, conjoint, and pricing research. Represents the DIY/insourcing threat to traditional full-service institutes like OPINION, particularly for mid-market clients with smaller budgets.

Others

• Sinus Institut: Sister institute within the same INTEGRAL-SINUS-OPINION holding group, focused on social/milieu research and the Sinus-Milieus model. Not a competitor but a strategic partner; included because it illustrates the holding's broader research portfolio and potential internal cannibalization or cross-sell dynamics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/opinion-market-research-&-consulting-gmbh

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 OPINION