Brain Research

What Brain Research does

Brain Research (BRAIN) is a Mexico City-headquartered market intelligence agency founded in 1998 by Laura Ruvalcaba and Abraham Nadelsticher, serving enterprise clients across Latin America with consumer, patient, shopper, and brand research. The firm operates wholly-owned divisions and product lines including Digital Room (a hybrid qualitative-quantitative real-time research platform with 48-72 hour KPI/report turnaround), UX Research tools, Qual Digital Dive (an interactive bulletin board methodology), VIBE (a virtual and augmented reality division covering Metaverse, virtual stores, and AI development), H&Wellness Hub (healthcare and pharmaceutical research with 85+ OTC/RX brand experience), CATMAN (point-of-sale and e-commerce category management), Social Media Listening, and retail Analytics (Pricing Modeling, Promotions Optimizer, Supply Chain Management). The firm's underlying technology stack combines proprietary digital research platforms with neuromarketing tools (Face Recognition, Eye Tracking) and AI-assisted features embedded in workflows.

The business model is professional services with quote-based pricing (not publicly disclosed), targeting enterprise clients through direct sales, website inquiries, phone, and email. With more than 50 clients, 11,000+ cumulative projects, 60,000+ quantitative interviews per year, 500+ qualitative dynamics per year, presence in 18 countries, and 9 served industries, the firm delivers recurring market intelligence engagements to large consumer goods, healthcare, retail, food and beverage, automotive, financial services, and logistics clients including 7-Eleven, Bimbo, Kellogg's, Mondelez, Nestlé, General Motors, Sanofi, Kimberly-Clark, Banco Azteca, El Palacio de Hierro, Soriana, and Subway. Multinational execution is enabled through WIN (Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research) partnership spanning 41 countries.

Name

Brain Research

Legal name

Brain Research

Website

https://brain-research.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Brain Research is a Mexico City-based market intelligence agency founded in 1998 that delivers consumer, patient, shopper, and brand research to enterprise clients across Latin America through proprietary platforms (Digital Room, VIBE VR) and H&Wellness Hub healthcare specialization, serving 50+ clients in 18 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B / Industrial Market Research (MPAAALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Qualitative Research (Focus Groups, IDIs, Ethnography) (MPAAALAE), Syndicated Market Research (Panels, Omnibus, Tracker Studies) (MPAAALAB)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Consumer insights
• Brand research
• Healthcare research
• Shopper insights

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Market Research Services: Professional market intelligence services including consumer/patient/physician behavior studies, innovation research, social media analysis, client satisfaction, and business feasibility projects. Services include field work, physical observation, digital observation, and self-administered studies following ISO standards.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Brain Research is a Mexico-based market intelligence agency providing qualitative and quantitative consumer, patient, physician, and shopper research services across Latin America. Its core offerings include the proprietary Digital Room hybrid quali-quanti platform, UX/usability research, Qual Digital Dive online bulletin board methodology, the H&Wellness Hub healthcare research division, and the VIBE virtual/augmented reality marketing division. The firm delivers syndicated and custom studies for consumer goods, pharmaceutical, retail, and automotive clients.

Product overview

Brain Research is a market intelligence agency offering a platform of research solutions with specialized divisions and methodologies. The core offerings include Digital Room (a hybrid quali-quanti real-time research platform with sub-products for Innovation, Packaging, Concept Evaluation, and Campaign Test), UX research tools, and Qual Digital Dive (bulletin board methodology). Specialized divisions include H&Wellness Hub (healthcare research covering Patient, Physician, and Laboratories segments) and VR Vibe (virtual/augmented reality for marketing, Metaverse, virtual stores, and AI development). Supporting modules include CATMAN for point-of-sale and e-commerce evaluation, Social Media Listening for brand monitoring, and Analytics models for retail optimization. The company operates across 41 countries through WIN partnership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Digital Room Proprietary digital platform running hybrid qualitative-quantitative research dynamics in real time, enabling brand decision-making with quantitative representativeness and qualitative depth in a single session. Delivers KPIs within 48 hours and complete reports within 72 hours. Applied to innovation, packaging, concept, and campaign evaluation work for brand and marketing teams.
• UX Research User experience research and usability testing services that help product teams evaluate and optimize user flows, layout effectiveness, terminology, structure, visual design, functionality, and overall usability aligned with business objectives.
• Qual Digital Dive Online interactive qualitative methodology with fluid bulletin board dynamics in which participants are active for 2-5 days responding to research topics under moderator guidance, using visual resources, open-ended questions, pins, photo tasks, and video tasks.
• H&Wellness Hub Healthcare and wellness market research division covering Patient, Physician, and Laboratory segments for pharmaceutical brands, laboratories, and medical device companies operating in Latin America. Methodologies include profiling, segmentation, ATU studies, brand image, brand health, patient journey, and innovation funnel work.
• VR Vibe Virtual and augmented reality division providing Metaverse strategy, virtual stores, digital advertising, product catalogues, AI development, and virtual training experiences for brand engagement and product testing in any location.
• CATMAN (Category Management) Category management and point-of-sale evaluation solutions for retailers and brands, covering POS assessment across store formats, layout and signage evaluation, facade studies, and omnichannel optimization.
• Social Media Listening Social media analysis and listening service for brand and product positioning, including key opinion leader (KOL) profiling, attitudes and image evaluation, and social trend analysis.
• Analytics Retail-focused analytics models covering pricing, promotions, and supply chain management, including Pricing Modeling, Promotions Optimizer, and Supply Chain Management Model using Conjoint Analysis, PSM, Van Westendorp, and BPTO methodologies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 48-72 hour turnaround for key research deliverables including quantitative KPIs and complete qualitative reports
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• WIN (Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal partnership with WIN providing association with 41 countries and access to international research capabilities. WIN enables BRAIN to conduct multi-country studies and serve multinational clients across Latin America, North America, Europe, and Asia. BRAIN is evaluated amongst the largest and strongest in Latin America through this network.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Numerator: Consumer behavior analytics firm combining purchase data with survey research. Comparable as an enterprise insights provider for CPG/retail clients, with overlap in shopper journey and innovation research methodologies.
• Dynata: Global first-party research data and panel provider. Comparable as a panel/sample and full-service research partner to enterprise clients, with overlap in quantitative and qualitative consumer research delivery.
• Toluna: Digital-first market research platform combining panels, programmatic sampling and a self-serve insights platform. Comparable as a research methodology provider competing for quantitative and qualitative project work, though Toluna leads on digital/self-serve distribution.
• NielsenIQ: Global consumer intelligence firm combining retail measurement with consumer research. Directly comparable for its work with the same CPG and retail clients (Walmart/7-Eleven-adjacent ecosystems) and overlapping product portfolio in shopper and innovation research.
• Ipsos: Global market research and consumer insights leader with strong Latin American presence. Directly comparable as a full-service B2B research firm serving the same Fortune 500 F&B, healthcare and retail clients, with overlapping methodologies in brand health, innovation and shopper research.
• GfK: Consumer and market research firm with deep CPG and durable goods expertise (now part of NIQ). Comparable for its consumer behavior, brand and innovation research sold into the same multinational enterprise clients in Latin America.
• Kantar: World-leading market research and consumer insights group. Comparable as an enterprise B2B research provider competing for the same multinational client research budgets across brand tracking, shopper, innovation and consumer panels.

Regional players

• Lexia Insights: Latin American market research and consumer insights firm with comparable verticals and clients. Comparable as a regional B2B research peer competing for similar brand and consumer insight mandates across Spanish-speaking LatAm markets.
• Infomerica: Mexico-based market research agency serving similar CPG and retail clients in the Mexican and Latin American market. Directly comparable as a domestic LatAm B2B research competitor.
• BrandStrat: Latin American-focused brand and consumer research consultancy. Comparable as a regional B2B insights provider targeting similar brand health, innovation and shopper use cases in Mexico and Andean markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries5 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 Brain Research