Murphy Research

What Murphy Research does

Murphy Research is a privately-held, founder-led full-service market research firm established in 2018 and headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with additional offices in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Seattle, and Washington D.C. The firm delivers quantitative and qualitative research services — market assessment, brand strategy, product development, customer loyalty and engagement, and communications research — to Fortune 500 and emerging companies across technology, CPG, retail, media, communications, and financial services. Named enterprise clients include Mattel, Facebook, eBay, Hershey's, Assurant, Merck, and unnamed hospital systems; the firm operates an ~18-person team structured across leadership, research, and operations functions.

The firm's core technology combines traditional and contemporary research methodologies — online surveys, digital and traditional ethnography, shop-along studies (in-store and virtual), central location qualitative research, and advanced analytics — supported by three proprietary frameworks: Laws of Attraction (segmentation and AA&U studies), Media Mapping (communications and media behavior research), and HATCH (innovation sessions). Its flagship asset is State of Our Health (SOOH), described as the world's largest syndicated health and wellness tracker, continuously surveying 1,000 U.S. teens and adults monthly (12,000 annually) since 2018 on food, fitness, and mindfulness behaviors, with quarterly reports, annual reports, topical deep-dives, webinars, and an online subscriber portal. The company also publishes a thought-leadership podcast ("Key Takeaways") and a Perspectives blog.

Murphy Research monetizes through three streams: custom project-based research engagements (quote-based, professional services), annual syndicated subscriptions to SOOH (recurring, pricing not publicly disclosed), and individual report purchases at $5,000–$7,500 per report. Distribution is sales-led through direct enterprise relationships managed by account managers and General Managers; the firm has no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and no public listing. Recent strategic activity includes the 2024 hire of David Pearson as General Manager (ex-LRW/Material), the Q2 2024 invitation to the Michigan State MSMRA Advisory Board, and a 2025 partnership with the Fitness Industry Supplier Association on the "Top 5 for 2025" report series.

Name

Murphy Research

Legal name

Murphy Research

Website

https://murphyresearch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Murphy Research is a privately-held, founder-led full-service market research firm founded in 2018 that delivers quantitative and qualitative research services, proprietary frameworks, and the State of Our Health syndicated tracker to Fortune 500 and emerging companies across technology, CPG, retail, media, and financial services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE), Syndicated Market Research (Panels, Omnibus, Tracker Studies) (MPAAALAB)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Consumer insights
• Syndicated research
• Brand strategy research
• Product development research

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Research Services: Project-based market research engagements serving Fortune 500 and emerging companies. Services include market assessment, brand strategy, product development, customer loyalty and engagement, and communications research. Pricing varies by project scope.
2. Syndicated Research Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions to State of Our Health syndicated tracker providing continuous health and wellness data. Includes access to SOOH portal with dashboards, quarterly reports, annual reports, special reports, and webinars. Also offers topical and trends reports available for purchase.
3. Individual Reports: Quarterly and annual trend reports plus topical deep-dive reports available for individual purchase. Example pricing: Q3 2022 Full Report $5,000 (half off first purchase), Online Fitness Deep Dive 2022 Full Report $7,500.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Murphy Research is a full-service market research firm offering quantitative and qualitative research services to help clients with market assessment, brand strategy, product development, customer loyalty and engagement, and communications research. The firm also operates State of Our Health (SOOH), a syndicated health and wellness tracker continuously collecting data since 2018. Services are delivered to Fortune 500 and emerging companies across technology, CPG, retail, media, communications, and financial services.

Product overview

Murphy Research is a full-service market research firm offering a portfolio of quantitative and qualitative research services built around three pillars: Enduring Insights, Creative Design, and Rigorous Execution. The core syndicated product is State of Our Health (SOOH), the largest continuous health and wellness tracker covering food, fitness, and mindfulness since 2018. Supporting the syndicated offering are multiple proprietary research tools including Laws of Attraction, Media Mapping, and HATCH. The company delivers five main service lines: Market Assessment, Development & Pricing, Brand Strategy, Communications, and Loyalty & Engagement. All offerings are delivered as professional services rather than self-service software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• State of Our Health (SOOH): The largest syndicated health and wellness tracker in the world, tracking fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness behaviors among U.S. teens and adults since 2018.
• Key Takeaways

Products and services

• State of Our Health (SOOH) The largest syndicated health and wellness tracker in the world, continuously collecting data on consumer attitudes and behaviors around food, fitness, and mindfulness through monthly surveys of 1,000 unique U.S. teens and adults (12,000 annually). Sold as an annual subscription with portal access, dashboards, quarterly reports, annual reports, special reports, and webinars. Individual quarterly and topical reports also available for purchase.
• Market Assessment Services Comprehensive market assessment services including Shop-Along (in-store and virtual), digital and traditional ethnography, online quantitative and qualitative research, central location qualitative, AA&U studies, segmentation solutions, and path to purchase analysis. Designed for clients evaluating market opportunity, competitive positioning, and shopper behavior.
• Development and Pricing Services Customer-centric development and pricing services including product optimization, package testing, and price analysis using Van Westendorp Model, Econometrics, Discrete Choice Model, MaxDiff Scaling, and Conjoint Analysis. For clients optimizing product, packaging, and pricing decisions.
• Brand Strategy Services Brand strategy services including Brand Equity Tracking, White Space Identification, Point of Market Entry, Line Extension/Optimization, Innovation Sessions, Activation Sessions, PrefTURF/TURF analysis, and in-person workshops. For clients developing or refreshing brand and portfolio strategy.
• Communications Services Communication research services including Copy Testing, Media Mapping, Effectiveness Tracking, Media Behavior analysis, and HATCH innovation workshops. For clients developing, optimizing, and measuring communications and media strategy.
• Loyalty and Engagement Services Customer relationship services including Loyalty Tracking, Engagement Modeling, Loyalty Program Development/Optimization, CRM and Tracking Programs, Driver Analysis, SWOT Analysis, and Online Reporting Solutions/Dashboards. For clients measuring and strengthening customer loyalty and engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Weekly mindfulness practice increased from 38% in 2019 to 50% by early 2026 per State of Our Health tracking data
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FISA (Fitness Industry Supplier Association)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaborative partnership on the 'Top 5 for 2025' report series. A unique venture between FISA and Murphy Research's State of Our Health syndicated research. The collaboration helps pinpoint the size, scope and demographic makeup of fitness industry trends, with insights and recommendations on what the numbers mean for business.
• Michigan State MSMRA (Masters in Marketing Research and Analytics)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024In Q2 2024, Murphy Research was invited to join the Michigan State Masters in Marketing Research and Analytics Advisory Board. The company is aligned with MSMRA's mission of educating the next generation of best-in-class researchers. Murphy Research brings collective knowledge and experiences to the curriculum and looks forward to partnering with the program and students.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Suzy: Suzy is a tech-enabled consumer insights platform combining a research panel with software tooling, representing the self-service/AI-enabled alternative that competes with traditional boutique research firms like Murphy on speed and cost.

Broad incumbents

• NielsenIQ: NielsenIQ is a global consumer intelligence giant with retail measurement, panels, and health/wellness data assets that overlap with Murphy's custom research and SOOH-style syndicated coverage.
• Mintel: Mintel is a global market research firm offering syndicated consumer research across CPG, health, and retail — directly competitive with SOOH's syndicated subscriptions and Murphy's CPG brand-tracking custom work.
• Kantar: Kantar is a global insights and consulting firm with extensive syndicated offerings (e.g., Worldpanel, BrandZ) that compete for the same Fortune 500 brand-tracking and consumer-insight budgets Murphy targets.
• Ipsos: Ipsos is a global market research leader operating across all of Murphy's verticals (CPG, tech, media, healthcare) with syndicated trackers, custom research, and panels at much greater scale.

Direct peers

• The Hartman Group: The Hartman Group is a custom market research firm focused on consumer and cultural insights for CPG, food/beverage, and health/wellness brands — overlapping directly with Murphy Research's core verticals and syndicated SOOH coverage of food, fitness, and mindfulness.
• Kelton Global: Kelton Global is a mid-sized, full-service research agency offering custom and syndicated products to enterprise brands, comparable in size, model, and buyer segment to Murphy Research.
• InsightsNow: InsightsNow is a boutique behavioral research firm that, like Murphy, combines proprietary analytical frameworks with custom consumer research for enterprise clients in CPG and retail.
• Schlesinger Group: Schlesinger Group is a large qualitative and quantitative fieldwork and research services provider with similar methodology offerings (online qual, ethnography, central location) used by Murphy Research.
• Material: Material (formerly LRW Group) is a full-service insights and research firm that competes head-to-head with Murphy Research for Fortune 500 custom research and brand strategy work. Direct relevance is reinforced by Murphy GM David Pearson's 20-year tenure at LRW/Material, suggesting the two firms compete for the same client base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/MurphyResearch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCIflmjnAs8OnEwLEnN_tKCQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/MurphyResearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/murphy-research
• Instagraminstagram.com/murphyresearch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Murphy Research