Cotton Consulting

What Cotton Consulting does

Cotton Consulting LLC is a privately held, New York-based qualitative health and wellness market research firm founded in 2000. The company serves pharmaceutical companies and consumer health and wellness brands, conducting project-based research engagements that examine patient, consumer, and healthcare professional (HCP) behavior, attitudes, and motivations. Its core technology consists of three proprietary, trademarked research methodologies — PartnerProbes® (examination-room dialogue analysis), EthnoProbes® (ethnographic research in patients' own environments), and SocialCircles® (analysis of patients' social network conversations) — all rooted in the academic discipline of Narrative Medicine as practiced at Columbia University.

The firm operates with a two-principal leadership team: Carol Cotton (President), whose background spans senior executive roles at Saatchi & Saatchi, Young & Rubicam, Yankelovich, and Roper, and Stephan Cotton (Principal), a filmmaker responsible for all creative deliverables. International delivery is executed through affiliates in Europe, Asia, and Australia, enabling the firm to serve multinational clients without internal geographic expansion. Named enterprise customers include Astellas, AstraZeneca, Galderma, Lundbeck, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Beiersdorf, and Proactiv.

Cotton Consulting generates revenue through quote-based, project-based professional services for qualitative research engagements; no pricing, recurring contract structure, or revenue figures are publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is sales-led via direct outreach, referrals, website contact (cottonconsultingny.com), email, and phone. The firm holds three registered methodology trademarks, has no disclosed external investment, and shows no AI, software platform, or technology product lines beyond its qualitative research methodologies.

Name

Cotton Consulting

Legal name

Cotton Consulting LLC

Website

https://cottonconsultingny.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cotton Consulting LLC is a New York-based qualitative health and wellness market research firm founded in 2000, serving pharmaceutical companies and consumer health brands through three proprietary Narrative Medicine-rooted methodologies (PartnerProbes®, EthnoProbes®, SocialCircles®) delivered via international affiliates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Qualitative Health and Wellness Market Research

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Qualitative Research (Focus Groups, IDIs, Ethnography) (MPAAALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG), Social & Digital Insights (Social Listening, Online Community Research) (MPAAALAK)

Keywords

• Qualitative market research
• Healthcare market research
• Patient insights research
• Ethnographic health research
• Pharmaceutical consumer research

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Qualitative Research Consulting: Project-based professional services providing qualitative health and wellness market research to pharmaceutical companies and health brands. Revenue generated through research engagements, consulting projects, and custom research deliverables.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Cotton Consulting delivers custom qualitative market research services to pharmaceutical companies and health/wellness brands, focused on understanding patients, consumers, and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in their real day-to-day lives. Engagements combine traditional qualitative and online techniques with three proprietary methodologies — PartnerProbes®, EthnoProbes®, and SocialCircles® — all rooted in Narrative Medicine, to produce insights that inform differentiated product and communications development for clients.

Product overview

Cotton Consulting is a qualitative health and wellness market research firm offering a suite of proprietary research methodologies designed to understand patients, consumers, and healthcare professionals (HCPs). The company provides three core research products: PartnerProbes® for analyzing patient-HCP dialogue in clinical settings, EthnoProbes® for ethnographic research in patients' own environments, and SocialCircles® for examining patients' social network influences. All methodologies are grounded in Narrative Medicine principles, which explore the power of storytelling in healthcare. The firm primarily serves pharmaceutical companies and health and wellness brands seeking to understand behavior, attitudes, and motivations at both emotional and rational levels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PartnerProbes® Proprietary qualitative research technique that studies the patient/consumer dialogue through careful analysis of office and examination-room conversations, offering deep insights into the relationship between the givers and receivers of medical care. Designed for pharmaceutical and health/wellness clients seeking differentiated understanding of patient-HCP interactions.
• EthnoProbes® Proprietary ethnographic research technique that studies the consumer in their own environment through in-person and web-based ethnographic tools, providing the story of a day in the life of patients, their friends and families, and other sources of support and influence. Built for pharmaceutical and health/wellness brands seeking deeper consumer context.
• SocialCircles® Proprietary research technique that examines the intimate conversations a patient/consumer has with their closest friends and relatives, yielding insights into the attitudes, actions, choices, priorities, and impacts of a patient's social network. Designed for clients seeking to understand social influence on healthcare decisions.
• Qualitative Health and Wellness Research Engagements Custom project-based qualitative research service combining proprietary methodologies (PartnerProbes®, EthnoProbes®, SocialCircles®) with traditional qualitative and online techniques, delivered to pharmaceutical companies and health/wellness brands seeking to understand patients, HCPs, caregivers, and consumers at emotional and rational levels. Delivered by Cotton Consulting's principals and research team with international affiliate support.

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• International Affiliates (Europe, Asia, Australia)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCotton Consulting works internationally through affiliates in Europe, Asia and Australia, offering clients a resource across demographics and throughout the world. These affiliates enable the firm to deliver qualitative research services globally.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Planning Shop: Boutique qualitative market research firm focused on pharmaceutical and healthcare clients, with a similar methodology-driven, principal-led model serving major pharma brand teams. Directly comparable in scope, customer base, and delivery approach.
• Hall & Partners: Specialist qualitative insights consultancy serving healthcare, consumer, and tech clients with proprietary frameworks and a focus on brand strategy. Comparable in offering a methodology-led, senior-led engagement model to enterprise brand owners.
• Schlesinger Group: Major qualitative research services provider offering in-person and online focus groups, IDIs, ethnography, and patient/HCP research capabilities. Comparable as a qualitative fieldwork and insights partner serving pharma and consumer health clients.
• CMI Media Group: Healthcare-focused media and insights agency serving pharmaceutical and consumer health clients with research informing media strategy. Comparable in serving the same pharma and consumer health buyers with research-led engagement.
• AplusA Research: Qualitative market research firm with deep specialization in healthcare and pharmaceutical clients, offering ethnographic and patient-focused research. Comparable as a boutique qualitative research firm targeting the same HCP and patient insight questions.
• Brand Institute: Healthcare-focused branding and research firm supporting pharmaceutical clients on brand naming, positioning, and market research. Comparable in serving pharma commercial teams with research-driven brand and communications work.

Broad incumbents

• Kantar Health: Global insights and consulting firm serving pharmaceutical and healthcare clients across brand strategy, patient insights, and market research. Comparable as a much broader incumbent whose health division overlaps directly with Cotton Consulting's core offer.
• IQVIA: Large-scale life sciences data, analytics, and insights provider serving global pharma with proprietary data assets. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose patient and HCP insights offerings overlap with Cotton Consulting's qualitative work.
• ZS Associates: Global management consulting and analytics firm serving pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical technology clients with research-driven advisory work. Comparable in serving pharma commercial teams with insight-led engagements.

Others

• Intellus Worldwide: Industry association for pharmaceutical market research professionals, representing many of the firms that compete with Cotton Consulting for pharma insight budgets. Comparable as a window into the same competitive set and customer base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cotton-consulting-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Cotton Consulting