Bureau Fris

What Bureau Fris does

Bureau Fris B.V. is a privately held Dutch full-service market research facilitation company founded in 2005 in Amsterdam by Stephanie Groot-Hecker. The company provides respondent recruitment, research facilities, research personnel, and online research facilitation to market research agencies and direct end-clients across the Netherlands, Belgium, and 20+ international markets. Its core operational asset is a proprietary database of approximately 30,000 Dutch respondents spanning consumer, business/professional, and medical panels, with deep demographic, psychographic, and behavioral profiling that enables targeted recruitment. The 2024 merger with Bee Keen (Paulien Ulbrich) materially expanded its B2B and medical recruitment capabilities, combining 45 years of leadership experience and bringing the team to 17 employees.

The company's product portfolio centers on three integrated pillars: (1) Respondent Recruitment services (full lifecycle from screening through compensation via the Yesty giftcard platform, with personal phone screening of every recruit); (2) Research Facilities including a permanent Amsterdam location (De Baarsjes research and viewing rooms with Full HD cameras, one-way mirror, streaming, and climate control) plus the mobile 'Fris Onderweg/Fris To Go' service covering the Netherlands and Belgium; and (3) Fris International, a partner network spanning 20+ countries that allows Bureau Fris to act as single-point coordinator for multi-country research. Supporting services include moderators, notetakers, simultaneous translators (English, French, German), and online hosts, with online research facilitated through Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Lookback.

Bureau Fris generates revenue through project-based pricing across multiple streams: recruitment (quoted per project), facility rental (per-day), mobile research (€250/day Basic or €2,500/day all-inclusive), and research staff (€30+/unit for hosts, €32.50+/unit for notetakers). The go-to-market model is sales-led through dedicated account managers with a buddy/backup continuity system, supported by self-serve consumer and business panel websites (panel.bureaufris.nl, zakelijk.bureaufris.nl), industry association channels (MOA, ESOMAR), and a multi-platform digital presence. The company holds ISO 9001 and ISO 20252:2019 certifications, is GDPR compliant, and operates fully CO2 neutral through a Trees for All partnership — positioning itself as the first full-service CO2-neutral Dutch market research agency. Customer base spans approximately 500 national and international clients including research agencies (Human8, Blauw Research), healthcare/pharma (EuroQol), and FMCG brands (Nomadfoods/Iglo).

Name

Bureau Fris

Legal name

Bureau Fris B.V.

Website

https://bureaufris.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bureau Fris is a Dutch full-service market research facilitation company based in Amsterdam, providing respondent recruitment, research facilities, research staff, and online research coordination to research agencies and direct end-clients across the Netherlands, Belgium, and 20+ international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

akta.pro primary industry

Patient Recruitment, Site Feasibility & Trial Enablement CROs (HLAGAAAI)

Keywords

• Market research recruitment
• Respondent recruitment services
• Focus group facilities
• UX usability testing
• Qualitative market research

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Respondent recruitment and werving: Core revenue stream: recruiting and screening respondents for market research studies including interviews, focus groups, product tests, UX research, and online communities. Bureau Fris manages the full recruitment lifecycle including invitation, screening, scheduling, and compensation payout. Revenue is project-based, quoted per client requirements.
2. Research facility rental (Amsterdam venue): Rental of fully equipped research rooms in Amsterdam including De Baarsjes research room (25m²) and viewing room (25.5m²). Facilities include Full HD cameras, LCD screens, HDMI/VGA connectivity, streaming capabilities, mirror wall, and climate control. Catering included.
3. Fris Onderweg (on-location research): Mobile research facility service delivering complete on-location research setup in the Netherlands and Belgium. Offered in two tiers: Basic (from €250/day, custom organization) and Excellent (€2,500 all-in per day). Includes location sourcing, hosts, catering, and technical support.
4. Research staff (moderators, hosts, notetakers, translators): Bureau Fris provides and coordinates professional research personnel including moderators, hosts, notetakers, simultaneous translators (English, French, German), and online hosts. Staff can be booked alongside facility or independently.
5. Online research facilitation: Facilitates online market research using tools such as Zoom, Teams, Webex, and Lookback. Services include advice on tool selection, tech checks, respondent preparation, online host provision, streaming, and transcription.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Bureau Fris is a full-service market research facilitation agency that recruits and screens respondents (consumer, business, and medical) from its proprietary 30,000+ Dutch panel database and provides equipped research facilities and research staff (moderators, notetakers, hosts, translators) for qualitative research projects. The company supports market research agencies and direct end-clients with project-based recruitment, in-person and online research sessions, mobile on-location research, and international coordination across 20+ countries.

Product overview

Bureau Fris is a full-service market research agency offering a comprehensive suite of services built around its core respondent recruitment and research facility capabilities. The platform consists of three integrated pillars: (1) Respondent Recruitment services covering consumer, business (B2B), and medical target groups from a database of approximately 30,000 respondents across the Netherlands; (2) Research Facilities including a permanent location in Amsterdam with fully equipped research/viewing rooms, plus mobile Fris Onderweg services for on-location research throughout the Netherlands and Belgium; and (3) Fris Internationaal for coordinating international research across 20+ countries. Additional services include professional research staff (moderators, note takers, translators, hosts), online research facilitation via video platforms (Zoom, Teams, Webex, Lookback), and consumer and business panel platforms for respondent engagement. The 2024 merger with Bee Keen expanded the company's capabilities in business and medical recruitment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Respondenten Werving (Respondent Recruitment) Recruitment service for market research respondents across consumer, business (B2B), and medical target groups in the Netherlands and Belgium. Bureau Fris manages the full recruitment lifecycle including candidate identification, phone screening, scheduling, communication, and incentive payout via its 30,000+ respondent database.
• Onderzoekslocatie (Research Facility) Fully equipped research facility in Amsterdam featuring two research rooms (25m² each) with Full HD cameras, LCD screens, HDMI/VGA connectivity, one-way mirror/viewing room, streaming capabilities, climate control, and catering. Used for focus groups, in-depth interviews, and UX/usability testing by research agencies and corporate clients.
• Fris Onderweg / Fris To Go (Mobile Research Facility) Mobile research service that turns any venue in the Netherlands or Belgium into a professional research facility, including location sourcing, technical setup, hosts, and catering. Offered in Basic (from €250/day) and Excellent (€2,500 all-in/day) tiers.
• Fris Internationaal (International Research Coordination) International market research project coordination service acting as the single Dutch client contact while partnering with local research providers in 20+ countries for on-ground recruitment, facility coordination, and research staff including moderators, notetakers, and translators.
• Onderzoekspersoneel (Research Staff) Professional research personnel including experienced moderators, hosts/hostesses (from €30/unit), notetakers (from €32.50/unit), simultaneous translators (English, French, German), and online hosts available for research sessions either at Bureau Fris facilities or independently.
• Marktonderzoek (Online Research Facilitation) Online market research facilitation using Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Lookback. Services include advice on tool selection, technical checks, respondent preparation, online host provision, streaming, and transcription.
• In-house Facility (On-location Research) On-location research setup service at client-preferred venues, with two tiers: Basic (organization and location selection) and Excellent (all-inclusive daily package including host, location, catering, travel, and parking).

Quantifiable outcome

• 25+ years of experience with more than 150,000 successful recruitments and 35,000+ respondents in database
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bee Keen (Paulien Ulbrich)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024In early 2024, Bureau Fris (Stephanie Groot) merged with Bee Keen, founded and operated by Paulien Ulbrich. Bee Keen specialized in B2B and medical respondent recruitment, bringing its own network, methodology, and team into Bureau Fris. The merger combined 45 years of industry experience, expanded databases, and broader service capabilities. Both companies shared similar values around personal contact and client service. Paulien Ulbrich became Managing Director Recruitment at Bureau Fris. The merger expanded Bureau Fris' capacity to serve challenging target groups and international clients.
• Trees for AllcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Trees for All is a Dutch organization established in 1999, the most experienced provider of CO2 compensation in the Netherlands and the only CO2 compensation provider through sustainable forest projects meeting CBF-keurmerk standards. Bureau Fris partners with Trees for All to operate fully CO2 neutral. For every research day, Bureau Fris plants two trees: one for CO2 compensation of the research day and one for environmental contribution. Respondents can also opt to exchange part of their incentive for trees. Since the partnership began, 116+ trees have been planted.
• International research partners (20+ countries)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThrough Fris International, Bureau Fris has built solid partnerships with research providers in more than 20 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. These partnerships enable Bureau Fris to coordinate international research projects as the primary client contact, with local partners handling on-ground recruitment and facility services.
• ESOMARminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBureau Fris is a member of ESOMAR, the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research. ESOMAR membership provides international credibility, networking opportunities, and access to global research industry standards and best practices.
• MOA (Market Research Association Netherlands)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerBureau Fris is a member of the MOA, the Dutch Market Research Association. MOA membership positions Bureau Fris within the Dutch research community and serves as a referral channel for MOA member companies seeking recruitment and facility services.
• CL.HRMminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCL.HRM helped Bureau Fris optimize internal processes to be smarter and more efficient. The consulting engagement focused on productivity improvement, work planning, and internal organization. This partnership demonstrates Bureau Fris' commitment to operational excellence.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Schlesinger Group: Global market research recruitment and qualitative data collection company operating owned panels and research facilities. Directly comparable to Bureau Fris as it competes for the same research-agency and brand-client recruitment budgets across multiple countries, with similar end-to-end recruitment-plus-facility service model.
• Blauw Research: Dutch market research agency and a named Bureau Fris customer for respondent recruitment. Comparable as a Netherlands-headquartered mid-sized research buyer that either resells or commissions Bureau Fris' recruitment services, operating in the same Dutch qualitative-research buyer ecosystem.
• Motivaction: Dutch market research agency focused on consumer and societal research. Comparable to Bureau Fris as a Netherlands-based competitor for Dutch-language qualitative and quantitative project work, often recruiting respondents through overlapping channels.
• MarketResponse: Dutch-based market research and consulting firm with significant in-house panel and qualitative capabilities. Comparable to Bureau Fris as it competes for the same Dutch consumer/B2B research budgets and operates overlapping respondent recruitment infrastructure.
• Fieldwork (IPSOS Field): Network of qualitative research facilities and recruitment services, now part of IPSOS. Closely comparable operating model to Bureau Fris: owned focus-group rooms, respondent recruitment across consumer/B2B/medical, and project-based pricing for research agencies and end clients.

Broad incumbents

• Dynata: One of the world's largest first-party data and online panel providers, serving enterprise research buyers globally. Comparable as a large-scale competitor for respondent access, though it lacks Bureau Fris' owned focus-group facilities and qualitative recruitment specialization in the Dutch market.
• Toluna: Global online panel and research-technology provider. Comparable as an alternative procurement path for the same research buyers Bureau Fris serves, but at much larger scale, with self-serve tools rather than fully managed recruitment-plus-facility service.
• Ipsos: Global market research firm with strong qualitative operations including owned focus-group facilities in many countries. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for both research-buyer budgets and panel respondents in the Dutch and broader European market.
• Kantar: Global market research and insights firm with extensive panel, qualitative, and analytics capabilities. Comparable as an incumbent competitor that internalizes much of the recruitment work Bureau Fris performs for agencies, and occasionally sources Bureau Fris for Dutch facility needs.

Emerging players

• Prolific: Online participant recruitment platform focused on academic and professional research respondents. Comparable as an emerging alternative channel for research buyers who might otherwise use Bureau Fris' B2B/medical panel, with self-serve tooling and lower price points.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bureaufris
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bureau-fris
• Instagraminstagram.com/bureaufris
• TikToktiktok.com/@bureau_fris?lang=nl-NL

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Bureau Fris