Grass Roots
Grass Roots is a French B2B agency that helps enterprises optimize commercial-network performance through mystery shopping, training, incentive programs, assessment, and sourcing, deploying proprietary platforms (Mystics, Bpeek, E-Learnlink, Connect, E-Eval) and a 70,000-member crowdsourcing community for large clients in automotive, retail, telecom, and industrial verticals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Grass Roots does
Grass Roots sales and marketing is a French B2B professional services agency that optimizes commercial performance for enterprise distribution and dealer networks. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Asnières-sur-Seine (Paris), the company operates through four divisions: GR Experience (mystery shopping, crowdsourcing via Bpeek, and store checks), GR Performance (training, coaching, and incentive programs), GR Ressources (assessment, sourcing, and outsourcing of commercial talent), and GR Education (apprenticeship and continuing education launched in 2024). The firm employs roughly 20 internal staff supported by 35 expert consultants and orchestrates a network of 9,500 trained mystery shoppers and a 70,000-member Bpeek consumer crowdsourcing community for in-store data collection.
The company's core technology stack consists of five internally developed proprietary platforms: Mystics (a mystery shopping management platform with a 10,000-investigator database), Bpeek (a mobile crowdsourcing application with photo-geolocated, time-stamped field data), E-Learnlink (an LMS for managers and trainers), Connect (a gamified mobile training app), and E-Eval (a digital competency assessment platform with psychotechnical tests and case studies), supplemented by a proprietary applicant tracking system, a CV Videos platform, and a Business Intelligence dashboard for KPI correlation. These tools are deployed as integrated solutions rather than standalone products, enabling end-to-end service delivery from customer-experience measurement through talent development and performance management.
Grass Roots generates revenue primarily through customized, project-based professional services engagements with large French enterprises, with no publicly disclosed pricing tiers. The business is operated exclusively through direct consultative sales to enterprise clients, with account directors managing key relationships; clients include METRO, Porsche France, Volkswagen Group, JCB, Solocal, Mongoo, Engie, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Nespresso, Orange, Sanofi, Sony, Stellantis, TotalEnergies, and Wilkinson. Since 2014, Grass Roots has been a wholly owned subsidiary of FMG Sales and Marketing Group, a French commercial outsourcing conglomerate (€70M revenue) that also controls Bpeek, Districom, DMF Locaser, and Easymalls, enabling cross-group service bundling. Annual revenue was reported at €3.5M as of 2021.
Grass Roots firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Grass Roots
- Legal name
- GRG SALES AND MARKETING
- Website
- https://grassroots.fr
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Grass Roots is a French B2B agency that helps enterprises optimize commercial-network performance through mystery shopping, training, incentive programs, assessment, and sourcing, deploying proprietary platforms (Mystics, Bpeek, E-Learnlink, Connect, E-Eval) and a 70,000-member crowdsourcing community for large clients in automotive, retail, telecom, and industrial verticals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Grass Roots industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Performance Consulting
- NAICS
- Landscaping Services (561730)
- SIC
- Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Lawn & Garden Equipment Retail (Mowers, Trimmers, Snow Blowers) (CRAIADAG)
Keywords
Where Grass Roots is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Grass Roots business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Professional Services - Mystery Shopping: Field mystery shopping programs with trained investigators evaluating customer experience across retail, restaurants, and service points
- Training and Coaching Services: Commercial training, coaching, and skill development programs delivered in-person, virtual, or mobile learning formats
- Incentive and Motivation Programs: Challenge, contest, and recognition programs with digital platforms for sales force motivation
- Assessment and Sourcing: Competency evaluation and candidate sourcing services for recruitment optimization
- Outsourcing: Externalization of commercial support functions and field resources
- Crowdsourcing (Bpeek): Consumer community-based data collection for retail intelligence
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Grass Roots product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Grass Roots is a B2B professional services agency that helps enterprises optimize the performance of their sales networks and distribution channels. It delivers mystery shopping, crowdsourcing, store check, training, coaching, incentive, assessment, sourcing, and outsourcing services, supported by proprietary digital platforms (Mystics, Bpeek, E-Learnlink, Connect, E-Eval). The firm targets large enterprise clients across automotive, retail, telecom, energy, and pharmaceutical sectors in France.
Product overview
Grass Roots is a sales network performance optimization agency founded in 1992, offering a comprehensive suite of services organized across four divisions: GR Experience (customer experience measurement via Mystery Shopping, Bpeek crowdsourcing, and Store Check), GR Performance (training, coaching, and incentive programs), GR Ressources (assessment, sourcing, and outsourcing), and GR Education (apprenticeship and continuing education). The company operates proprietary digital platforms including Bpeek (crowdsourcing app with 70,000+ users), Mystics (mystery shopping management platform), E-LEARNLINK (LMS), CONNECT (gamified mobile learning app), and E-EVAL (assessment platform). The ecosystem integrates these tools to deliver end-to-end solutions from customer experience measurement to talent development and commercial team performance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bpeek: Crowdsourcing application with 70,000+ consumer community members for field data collection and store audits
- Mystics
- Connect
- E-LEARNLINK
Products and services
- Mystery Shopping Mystery visits, emails, chats, and calls conducted by trained investigators to collect reliable data on customer experience and satisfaction across retail, restaurant, and service networks. Used by enterprises to benchmark performance and animate their distribution networks.
- Crowdsourcing (Bpeek) Real-time in-store data collection through the Bpeek mobile crowdsourcing community of 70,000+ consumers, providing photo-documented field intelligence for retail audits and commercial plan verification.
- Store Check In-store audits and merchandising controls to verify trade marketing investments, product placement, pricing, stock levels, and competitive positioning for distributors and retail networks.
- Training Commercial training programs delivered via mobile learning, virtual classes, in-person sessions, e-learning, and gamification to build sales, negotiation, merchandising, and customer satisfaction skills for sales teams.
- Coaching Personalized one-on-one coaching for individuals and sales teams, delivered in-person and remotely, focused on developing potential and driving performance improvement.
- Incentive Programs Motivation and recognition programs including challenges, contests, and gamification campaigns designed to engage and retain sales teams and distribution network partners.
- Assessment Competency evaluation using psychotechnical tests, role-playing scenarios, case studies, and customized reports to support recruitment, promotion, and training decisions.
- Sourcing Proactive multi-channel candidate identification and recruitment services using social networks, job boards, and CV databases to source commercial and managerial profiles for client distribution networks.
- Outsourcing Outsourcing of commercial support and expert missions, providing flexible staffing solutions and operational management of externalized field collaborators dedicated to client networks.
Quantifiable outcome
- Average client loyalty exceeding 6 years with some clients since Grass Roots founding
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Grass Roots
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Grass Roots technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Grass Roots partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- EasymallsminorEasymalls was acquired by FMG Group (Grass Roots parent) in 2020. The company designs, develops, and executes customized activation solutions for commercial and marketing objectives with ephemeral installations in high-traffic areas including pop-up stores, events, and road-shows.
- FMG Sales and Marketing (Groupe)coreGrass Roots is a subsidiary of FMG Sales and Marketing, acquired in 2014. FMG is a leader in commercial outsourcing (70M€ revenue) comprising Grass Roots, Bpeek, Districom, DMF Locaser, and Easymalls. Grass Roots serves both direct clients and clients of other FMG subsidiaries in complementary service delivery.
- BpeekcoreBpeek is Grass Roots' crowdsourcing solution with a community of 70,000+ consumers. The mobile application enables rapid in-store data collection with geolocated photos. Bpeek operates as an integrated service within Grass Roots' portfolio.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Grass Roots competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kantar: Kantar operates a global customer experience and mystery shopping business that overlaps directly with Grass Roots' measurement, benchmarking, and in-store audit offerings for large enterprise clients.
- Ipsos: Ipsos is a global market research firm with a dedicated mystery shopping and customer experience measurement practice that directly competes with Grass Roots' GR Experience division across France and internationally.
- Cegos: Cegos is a leading French corporate training and professional development firm, directly comparable to Grass Roots' GR Performance and GR Education divisions across training delivery and commercial skills programs.
- Richardson Sales Performance: Richardson is a global sales training and sales performance consulting firm, directly comparable to Grass Roots' GR Performance division in helping enterprises elevate field and dealer-network sales effectiveness.
- SalesGlobe: SalesGlobe is a sales performance consulting firm that helps B2B organizations design incentive plans, compensation, and sales force effectiveness programs — overlapping with Grass Roots' incentive and coaching services.
- Service Quality Institute (SQI): SQI specializes in mystery shopping, customer service training, and CX measurement, closely aligned with Grass Roots' combined mystery-shopping-plus-training integrated offering.
- MaritzCX (Maritz Inc.): MaritzCX is a long-established global mystery shopping and CX measurement firm with overlapping investigator-network business model. Notably, Grass Roots France was originally founded as Maritz in 1992, making this peer historically intertwined.
Broad incumbents
- Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm with significant sales-effectiveness, talent assessment, and recruitment practices — a broader incumbent overlapping with Grass Roots' GR Ressources division.
- Gartner (formerly CEB): Gartner (post-CEB acquisition) offers enterprise sales research, benchmarking, and enablement subscriptions that overlap with the strategic advisory layer of Grass Roots' sales performance programs.
Emerging players
- Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) member firms (e.g., RealityCheck): Smaller mystery shopping and CX measurement specialists such as RealityCheck compete in the same investigator-network-led delivery model as Grass Roots' Mystics platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Grass Roots social profiles
Digital presenceGrass Roots compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Grass Roots financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Grass Roots leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Grass Roots subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Grass Roots funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Grass Roots M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Grass Roots
What does Grass Roots do?
Grass Roots is a B2B professional services agency that helps enterprises optimize the performance of their sales networks and distribution channels. It delivers mystery shopping, crowdsourcing, store check, training, coaching, incentive, assessment, sourcing, and outsourcing services, supported by proprietary digital platforms (Mystics, Bpeek, E-Learnlink, Connect, E-Eval). The firm targets large enterprise clients across automotive, retail, telecom, energy, and pharmaceutical sectors in France.
Is Grass Roots a public or private company?
Grass Roots is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Grass Roots founded?
Grass Roots was founded in 1992. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Grass Roots based?
Grass Roots is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Grass Roots make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Professional Services - Mystery Shopping is the primary driver. The others are training and Coaching Services, incentive and Motivation Programs, assessment and Sourcing, outsourcing and crowdsourcing (Bpeek).
Who are Grass Roots's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kantar, Ipsos, Cegos, Richardson Sales Performance, SalesGlobe, Service Quality Institute (SQI) and MaritzCX (Maritz Inc.). Broad incumbents are Korn Ferry and Gartner (formerly CEB). Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) member firms (e.g., RealityCheck) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Grass Roots have an API?
No public API is recorded for Grass Roots.
What industry is Grass Roots in?
Grass Roots's product category is Commercial Performance Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAIADAG, Lawn & Garden Equipment Retail (Mowers, Trimmers, Snow Blowers). Its NAICS code is 561730 and its SIC code is 5200.