IFAK

What IFAK does

IFAK Institut GmbH & Co. KG is a German full-service market research institute founded in 1958 and headquartered in Taunusstein, Germany. The firm operates as a GmbH & Co. KG with three managing directors (Jens Winicker, Martina Winicker, and Sören Winzer) and combines approximately 40 permanent employees with a proprietary field organization of 700 interviewers. It delivers bespoke quantitative and qualitative research, including CATI (via wholly-owned subsidiary rilaton GmbH), CAPI, online surveys, online communities, focus groups, and in-depth interviews, with longstanding specialisations across pharma and healthcare, media and broadcasting, consumer goods and retail, mobility and transport, and public-sector social research.

The technology stack centres on an in-house CATI studio, online community platforms for specialist target groups (notably physicians and patients), and AI-assisted plausibility checks plus report-generation workflows layered onto data validation and analyst documentation. Strategic partnerships with TeleMatrix GmbH (multilingual telephone capacity) and Winicker Norimed (clinical trials and non-interventional studies) extend delivery beyond the core German-speaking market and into regulatory-grade healthcare research. Long-running syndicated assets such as the KIM study (since 1999 for mpfs) and the Rheinland-Pfalz-Report (with Rhein-Zeitung and RPR1) create recurring revenue and cumulative datasets that competitors starting from zero cannot easily replicate.

Commercially, IFAK generates revenue through fee-for-service, project-by-project engagements with enterprise and institutional clients (advertising agencies are explicitly excluded). Pricing is bespoke, based on research design, sample size, methodology, and deliverables, with payment typically staged across contract award, data-collection start, and delivery; no standardised public pricing exists. Go-to-market is sales-led via dedicated business development managers and project managers, supported by content marketing, a quarterly newsletter, social presence on LinkedIn and XING, paid social via Meta and TikTok pixels, and active participation in industry associations (ADM, BVM, ESOMAR). Reported FY2025 turnover is €7.4M, the firm is privately held with no external funding rounds disclosed, and operations are concentrated in the DACH region.

Name

IFAK

Legal name

IFAK Institut GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://ifak.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IFAK Institut GmbH & Co. KG is a German full-service market research institute founded in 1958, headquartered in Taunusstein, with 40 permanent staff and 700 field interviewers. It delivers bespoke quantitative and qualitative research across pharma and healthcare, media, consumer goods, mobility, and public-sector clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Consumer research
• Media research
• Pharmaceutical research
• CATI surveys

Headquarters

HQ city

Taunusstein

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Research Projects: IFAK generates revenue primarily through fee-for-service market and social research projects tailored to client-specific research questions. Each project is scoped individually with pricing based on methodology, sample size, and complexity. The company acts as a full-service institute handling the complete research lifecycle from design through analysis and reporting.
2. Syndicated / Recurring Studies: IFAK conducts recurring or syndicated studies for clients such as media studies (KIM study, Rheinland-Pfalz-Report), where results may be shared among multiple subscribers or repeat clients, providing recurring revenue potential.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IFAK is a full-service market research institute providing quantitative and qualitative research services, including CATI, CAPI, online surveys, online communities, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. It operates its own CATI studio, field organisation with 700 interviewers, and applies AI-assisted validation and reporting workflows to deliver methodologically rigorous, tailored research projects for clients in pharma, media, consumer goods, and mobility sectors.

Product overview

IFAK is a German full-service market research institute founded in 1958, offering a comprehensive range of research services rather than a software product. The company provides quantitative and qualitative research methodologies including CATI (via an in-house studio operated through subsidiary rilaton GmbH), CAPI, online surveys, online communities, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. Specializations span consumer research, health & pharma research (with particular expertise in online communities featuring physicians and patients), media research (including print, radio, podcast, and streaming analysis), public transportation & mobility research, and touchpoint research. The company operates its own field organization with 700 field interviewers and maintains strategic partnerships with TeleMatrix (for multilingual CATI capabilities) and Winicker Norimed (for clinical trial research).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full-Service Market Research (Marktforschungs-Dienstleistungen)
• CATI-Studio (In-house Telephone Interviewing)
• Online Communities for Healthcare
• Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Research
• Media Research (Medienforschung)
• Mobility and Public Transport Research (ÖPNV- & Verkehrsforschung)
• Touchpoint Research
• Degustation Tests (Product Tasting)
• KIM Study (Children's Media Use Study)
• Rheinland-Pfalz-Report

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced data validation time — plausibility checks that previously required a full working day are now partially automated, with flagged cases ready for human review at the start of the day
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• rilaton GmbHcoreTechnology or Integrationrilaton GmbH is IFAK's in-house CATI telephone studio located at the same Taunusstein address as IFAK. The close physical proximity and direct operational integration enable efficient cooperation between project management and specially trained interviewers for telephone surveys. Rilaton is a wholly aligned subsidiary-like partner providing the interviewing infrastructure for CATI-based research.
• Winicker NorimedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWinicker Norimed specialises in clinical trials and non-interventional studies for drug, nutritional supplement, and medical device companies. The partnership enables IFAK to offer comprehensive healthcare and pharma research including regulatory-grade clinical study support, complementing IFAK's market research capabilities with specialised clinical research expertise.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos (Germany): Global market research group with substantial German operations spanning consumer, healthcare, and media research. Overlaps with IFAK's verticals but operates at much larger scale and global footprint.
• NielsenIQ (Germany): Global consumer intelligence firm with strong German presence in FMCG and retail measurement. Comparable in consumer goods research and German enterprise client base, but with global scale and syndicated panel data assets.
• Kantar (Germany): Global research, data, and insights group with German media-audience-measurement heritage (formerly AGF). Overlaps with IFAK's media research, consumer, and brand-tracking offerings, but at significantly larger scale.

Emerging players

• YouGov: Global online research and analytics firm with growing German panel operations. Competes for syndicated and brand-tracking work where IFAK's media and consumer research clients increasingly evaluate digital-first alternatives.
• Bilendi: European online panel and data collection provider headquartered in Berlin/Paris. Adjacent competitor for digital research and panel-based fieldwork where IFAK's traditional CATI model faces pricing pressure.
• Civey: Berlin-based digital market research platform offering real-time online consumer insights. Represents the DIY/online-first model threatening traditional MR firms' transactional survey work in Germany.

Direct peers

• Psyma Group: German market research firm with strong automotive, consumer goods, and healthcare verticals. Comparable in being a mid-sized, full-service German research house with qualitative depth and similar client profile.
• Infratest dimap: German social and market research institute specializing in political, social, and media research. Highly comparable in methodology mix, DACH focus, and emphasis on CATI and face-to-face fieldwork.
• forsa Gesellschaft für Sozialforschung und statistische Analysen: Berlin-based German market and social research institute with strong public-sector and media research presence. Direct peer in social research, polling, and DACH-regional delivery model.
• GIM (Gesellschaft für Innovative Marktforschung): Heidelberg-based full-service German market research institute offering qualitative and quantitative research across consumer, healthcare, and brand research. Direct comparable in size, German focus, full-service model, and vertical breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ifak-institut-gmbh-&-co-kg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 IFAK