What Aproxima does

Aproxima is a German market and social research firm headquartered in Weimar, Thuringia, that delivers empirical research services to public institutions, government agencies, research institutes, and private sector clients. Founded in 1998 by Henry Kreikenbom under the original name 'apropro!' and rebranded to its current form, the company has operated continuously for over 25 years. Its service portfolio spans quantitative methods (CATI telephone surveys, online surveys, face-to-face interviews) and qualitative methods (group discussions, online focus groups, guided interviews, Reallabor real-world labs, World-Café facilitation), supplemented by specialized compliance testing through youth protection test purchases (Jugendschutz-Testkäufe) and broader mystery research. Research domains include environment and sustainability, health/risk/consumer protection, organization and employee research, markets and customers, and societal change.

The firm operates a proprietary CATI telephone studio with 20 interviewer stations in its Weimar headquarters and runs all survey administration on the keyingress platform by ingress solutions gmbh, which unifies online and telephone survey execution under a single methodology stack. The organization is structured into three divisions: Studien und Beratung (Studies and Consulting), Feldforschung (Field Research), and Backoffice. Aproxima is a member of all four leading German market and social research associations (ADM, BVM, DGOF, IMSF) and publishes annual SDG impact reporting indicating 73-78% of revenue is aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The business model is professional services: project-based engagements commissioned via direct consultation requests, website inquiry forms, and formal RFP processes, with long-tenor contracts for federal clients (e.g., BASE, BGZ) and consortium-based research with academic partners (ISOE, Fraunhofer ISE, Wuppertal Institut). Following a generational transition completed in early 2024, Selina Recke and Sebastian Götte now serve as sole managing directors and sole shareholders, with founder Henry Kreikenbom having fully exited management.

Name

Aproxima

Legal name

aproxima Gesellschaft für Markt- und Sozialforschung Weimar mbH

Website

https://www.aproxima.de/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aproxima is a German market and social research firm offering CATI, online, face-to-face, and qualitative research services across sustainability, health, organizational, and social change domains for federal and state government agencies, research institutes, and private sector clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market and Social Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Fieldwork & Data Collection (Online Panels, CATI/CAPI, Fieldwork) (MPAAALAD)

Keywords

• Market research
• Social research
• CATI surveys
• Mystery shopping
• Sustainability research

Headquarters

HQ city

Weimar

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

Revenue model

1. Research Project Services: Project-based market and social research services for public institutions, government agencies, and private companies. Projects include surveys, interviews, mystery shopping, and consulting engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Aproxima is a market and social research consultancy that delivers empirical research services for public institutions, government agencies, and private companies. The firm conducts quantitative and qualitative surveys (CATI telephone interviews, online surveys, face-to-face interviews, focus groups, guided interviews), compliance testing (youth protection test purchases, mystery shopping), and participative research (Reallabor, World Café). It operates an in-house CATI phone studio with 20 interviewer stations in Weimar and uses the keyingress platform by ingress for unified online and telephone survey administration.

Product overview

Aproxima is a market and social research company offering a comprehensive portfolio of empirical research services rather than a software product platform. The core offerings include quantitative methods (CATI telephone surveys, online surveys, face-to-face interviews) and qualitative methods (focus groups, guided interviews, living labs, World-Café). Specialized testing services include youth protection mystery shopping and mystery research. Research domains span sustainability, health and consumer protection, organizational/employee research, markets and customer studies, and social change. The company operates its own telephone studio with 20 interviewer stations and utilizes the keyingress platform for unified online and CATI survey administration. All services are delivered as consulting engagements for public institutions and businesses, not as standalone software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CATI-Telefonstudio (CATI Telephone Studio) Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) studio with 20 interviewer stations, enabling quantitative telephone surveys for academic and market research projects for public institutions and private companies.
• Online-Befragungen (Online Surveys) Online survey services using the keyingress platform, enabling quantitative data collection via web-based questionnaires for diverse research objectives.
• Face-to-Face-Befragungen (Face-to-Face Surveys) In-person interview surveys conducted by trained field interviewers, enabling quantitative and qualitative data collection through direct respondent engagement.
• Gruppendiskussionen und Online-Fokusgruppen (Group Discussions and Online Focus Groups) Qualitative group discussion and online focus group facilitation services for exploratory research and in-depth stakeholder insights.
• Leitfadeninterviews (Guided Interviews) Guided qualitative interview services structured around predetermined topics for detailed exploration of individual perspectives and experiences.
• Jugendschutz-Testkäufe (Youth Protection Test Purchases) Compliance testing services to verify adherence to youth protection regulations, including mystery shopping at retail establishments selling age-restricted products.
• Mystery Research Mystery shopping and service testing services evaluating customer experience, compliance, and quality standards across various industries.
• Reallabor (Living Lab) Living lab methodology services enabling real-world testing and participatory research in authentic environments with target user groups.
• World-Café Facilitated group dialogue methodology services for collective sense-making and stakeholder engagement on complex topics.
• Umwelt & Nachhaltigkeit Forschung (Environment and Sustainability Research) Sustainability research services encompassing environmental impact assessment, sustainable consumption patterns, and ecological transformation studies for public institutions and private companies.
• Gesundheit, Risiko und Verbraucherschutz Forschung (Health, Risk and Consumer Protection Research) Health, risk perception, and consumer protection research services including exposure studies, health reporting, and risk assessment.
• Organisation & Mitarbeiter Forschung (Organization and Employee Research) Organizational development and employee research services including psychological risk assessments and workplace satisfaction studies.
• Märkte und Kunden Forschung (Markets and Customers Research) Markets and customers research services covering R&D process evaluation, customer satisfaction studies, and price sensitivity analysis.
• Gesellschaftlicher Wandel Forschung (Social Change Research) Social change research services addressing handicap groups, political attitudes, and senior citizen studies for public policy insights.

Quantifiable outcome

• 73-78% of annual revenue aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ingress (ingress solutions gmbh)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 November 2023Aproxima uses ingress's keyingress platform for online surveys and CATI platform for telephone interviews, enabling unified survey methodology across both modes.
• ISOE – Institut für sozial-ökologische ForschungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISOE leads the 'Bahnhof der Zukunft' (Station of the Future) project commissioned by the German Ministry for Digital and Transport. Aproxima is a research partner conducting social-empirical surveys on traveler needs at train stations as multimodal mobility interfaces.
• Fraunhofer Institut für solare Energiesysteme (ISE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on transdisciplinary analysis frameworks for conflicts in infrastructure projects. Sebastian Götte contributed to developing conflict analysis models at Fraunhofer ISE, now used in acceptance research for nuclear repository siting.
• Fresh Thoughts ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAproxima conducted surveys along the Rhine river for the European NAPSEA research project on agricultural water management, commissioned by Fresh Thoughts Consulting.
• Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie gGmbHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in the 'Bahnhof der Zukunft' project consortium.
• Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach (HfG) / Designinstitut für Mobilität und Logistik (DML)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in the 'Bahnhof der Zukunft' project consortium.
• Nuts One GmbH, BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in the 'Bahnhof der Zukunft' project consortium.
• Gateways, AmsterdamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in the 'Bahnhof der Zukunft' project consortium.
• Viertakt KommunikationsagenturminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommunications agency partnered with Aproxima for the AWO Thüringen employer branding study, taking over after research completion.
• Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung (BASE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAproxima conducts the EWident long-term study on attitudes and knowledge about nuclear waste repository siting for BASE, measuring public acceptance and communication effectiveness.
• BGZ Bundesgesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung mbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAproxima conducts survey-based monitoring for BGZ on public attitudes toward interim nuclear waste storage facilities, including questions on awareness, trust, and local acceptance.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• forsa: German market and social research institute headquartered in Berlin; directly comparable in offering (CATI surveys, opinion polling, social research) and overlapping public-sector client base in Germany.
• infas Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft: German social and market research firm offering CATI, online, and F2F surveys with strong public-sector and health research portfolios; very close direct peer to Aproxima in size and service mix.
• Skopos Market Research: Cologne-based market and opinion research firm offering online, CATI, and qualitative methods; comparable scale and methodology mix serving German public and private clients.

Broad incumbents

• GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften: Germany's largest infrastructure institute for the social sciences; competes for academic and federal research contracts and runs survey programs (ALLBUS, GLES) that overlap with Aproxima's social research work.
• Ipsos Germany: Global research group's German operations; provides CATI, online, and qualitative research to public and private sectors across Germany and is a frequent competitor on federal RFPs.
• Kantar Germany (incl. Kantar Public): Global insights group's German arm (formerly TNS Infratest); strong in public-sector and policy research with multi-method capability, competing for the same federal contracts as Aproxima.
• GfK (NielsenIQ): Major consumer and market research incumbent in Germany offering panels and syndicated studies; broader scope but competes for market and customer research budgets Aproxima targets.
• YouGov Germany: Panel-based research provider operating in Germany with strong public-opinion and consumer research offerings; competes for online survey-based RFPs.

Emerging players

• Splendid Research: Hamburg-based market research firm focused on consumer and brand research with an online panel; comparable in size and emerging as a competitor for private-sector market research work.
• Statista (research services): Hamburg-based data and research platform increasingly offering commissioned market and consumer research; adjacent competitor for private-sector market research budgets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/aproximaweimar
• Xx.com/aproximaweimar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Aproxima