Klare Antworten

What Klare Antworten does

Klare Antworten GmbH is a Munich-headquartered, privately held qualitative market research firm that has operated continuously since 1998, delivering project-based research services to enterprise clients across six primary verticals: media and broadcasting, transportation and tourism, automotive, healthcare, finance, energy, and advertising. The company's core offering comprises three methodology lines — 'Klassiker' (traditional face-to-face qualitative methods including focus groups and in-depth interviews), 'Online-Forschung' (digital methods such as bulletin boards, continuous insight communities, chats, webcam interviews, customer safaris, co-creation communities, netnography, and online qualitative insight interviews), and 'Specials' (ethnographic research with photo/video documentation, creative workshops using psychological creativity techniques, and product clinics, particularly in automotive research). Beyond these service lines, the firm has built the 'Stars Insight' continuous insight community platform, developed in partnership with TNS Infratest for Mercedes-Benz, which received the Preis der Deutschen Marktforschung in the 'Beste Studie' category.

The company serves corporate clients including major broadcasters (Bayerischer Rundfunk, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, ORF, ProSiebenSat.1, ZDF), automotive manufacturers (Audi, BMW, VW, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz via TNS), transportation operators (Lufthansa, TUI), pharmaceutical firms (Sanofi, Novartis, Hevert), banks and insurers (ARAG, Commerzbank, Cortal Consors, LBS), and energy companies (Shell, Statoil). It generates revenue through custom, quote-based, project-based engagements across both in-person (regional focus) and online (nationwide) research execution, with pricing not publicly disclosed and contracts structured as multi-year arrangements. International delivery is enabled through a worldwide partner institute network built over 25+ years, with a core partnership with Dr. Solange Wydmusch of LIMEST Berlin.

The firm is led by Barbara Troger-Hobbhahn (Projektmanagement und Geschäftsführung) and Karin Schupp (Projektmanagement), and operates from a single Munich office at Willibaldstraße 132. It holds no parent company and has no disclosed venture, private equity, or institutional investors. The go-to-market model is sales-led, enterprise-focused, and relies on direct client engagement supplemented by industry expertise demonstration (case studies and methodology descriptions on its website) and professional network referrals through its partner institute ecosystem. The company is GDPR-compliant and uses SSL/TLS encryption on its web property, and operates with no disclosed app, API, or software platform product — i.e., the business model is professional services rather than software-as-a-service, with digital methods delivered as consulting engagements rather than self-serve tools.

Name

Klare Antworten

Legal name

Klare Antworten GmbH

Website

https://klare-antworten.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Klare Antworten GmbH is a Munich-based, privately held qualitative market research firm founded in 1998 that delivers focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic research, online insight communities, and product clinics to enterprise clients across media, automotive, transportation, healthcare, finance, and energy verticals in Germany and internationally via partner institutes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Qualitative Market Research

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Qualitative Research (Focus Groups, IDIs, Ethnography) (MPAAALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social & Digital Insights (Social Listening, Online Community Research) (MPAAALAK)

Keywords

• Qualitative market research
• Focus group research
• Consumer insight research
• Ethnographic research services
• Online insight communities

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Qualitative Market Research Services: Project-based qualitative market research services including focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic research, creative workshops, clinics, and online research. Revenue is generated through custom research projects for corporate clients across various industries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Klare Antworten is a qualitative market research firm that designs and executes custom research projects for enterprise clients, using traditional methods (focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic research, creative workshops, clinics) and digital methods (bulletin boards, continuous insight communities, webcam interviews, netnography, customer safaris). Engagements span vertical-specific questions for media, automotive, transportation, healthcare, finance, energy, and advertising clients, delivered nationally and internationally through a partner-institute network built since 1998.

Product overview

Klare Antworten is a qualitative market research company offering a portfolio of research methods and specialized tools. Their core offering consists of three main research approaches: 'Klassiker' (traditional face-to-face and online qualitative methods including focus groups and depth interviews), 'Online-Forschung' (digital research tools such as bulletin boards, insight communities, and webcam interviews), and 'Specials' (ethnographic studies, creative workshops, and product clinics). They also operate the 'Stars Insight' continuous community platform. The company operates as a service provider rather than a software platform, combining analog and digital methodologies tailored to client research questions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stars Insight: Continuous Insight Community developed for Mercedes-Benz in cooperation with TNS Infratest, which won the German Market Research Award in the 'Best Study' category.

Products and services

• Klassiker (Classic Qualitative Research) Traditional face-to-face and live-online qualitative research methods including focus groups and in-depth interviews, conducted either online via video or in-person at regional locations; targeted at enterprise clients across media, automotive, transportation, healthcare, finance, energy, and advertising verticals.
• Online-Forschung (Online Research) Digital qualitative research methods including bulletin boards, continuous insight communities, chats and webcam interviews, customer safaris, co-creation communities, netnography, and online qualitative insight interviews; for enterprise clients needing asynchronous or remote qualitative data collection.
• Specials (Specialized Research Methods) Specialized research tools comprising ethnographic research (home/field visits with photo and video documentation), creative workshops (consumer and stakeholder ideation translated into concept forms), and clinics (live product testing and evaluation, including automotive product clinics); for enterprise clients requiring deeper or experiential insight generation.
• Stars Insight (Continuous Insight Community) Continuous consumer insight community platform for ongoing qualitative engagement with automotive customers, developed in partnership with Mercedes-Benz and TNS Infratest; awarded the German Market Research Prize in the "Best Study" category.

Named customers22 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Dr. Solange Wydmusch / LIMEST BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation for international projects with Dr. Solange Wydmusch, Head of LIMEST Berlin. LIMEST Berlin serves as a key international project partner, enabling the firm to conduct research across global markets.
• TNS InfratestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 'Stars Insight' continuous insight community project for Mercedes-Benz. This partnership combined Klare Antworten's qualitative research expertise with TNS Infratest's market research infrastructure.
• Global Partner Institutes NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorldwide network of partner institutes established over 25+ years of operation, enabling international project capabilities across multiple countries and regions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Result Group: German full-service market research firm offering qualitative and quantitative methodologies for enterprise clients across multiple verticals—comparable in service breadth and target customer profile.
• Rheingold Institut: German qualitative market research institute specializing in depth-psychological interviews, ethnographic research, and cultural insight—directly comparable to Klare Antworten's depth-interview and ethnographic offerings for enterprise clients.
• SKOPOS Group: Germany-based market research provider combining quantitative and qualitative methods, serving enterprise clients across industries—comparable in scale and vertical coverage to Klare Antworten.
• konzept & analyse: German market research firm providing qualitative and quantitative services to enterprise clients across industries—directly comparable boutique research competitor in the DACH market.
• Splendid Research: Hamburg-based market research firm offering both qualitative and quantitative methods with an online panel—closely comparable mid-sized German research boutique competing for similar enterprise clients.

Broad incumbents

• GfK: German-origin global market research firm with strong consumer and qualitative research practices across automotive, media, and retail verticals—competes for the same enterprise clients as Klare Antworten but at vastly larger scale.
• YouGov: Global research firm offering qualitative and quantitative consumer research across multiple verticals—competes for enterprise brand and product research mandates.
• Ipsos: Global market research leader with a sizable qualitative practice serving automotive, healthcare, media, and finance clients—directly comparable enterprise client base but at much broader portfolio scale.
• Kantar: Global insights and consulting group with deep qualitative and continuous-panel capabilities serving the same enterprise verticals—competes with Klare Antworten for enterprise qualitative mandates.

Regional players

• Civey: Berlin-based digital market research firm focused on opinion, brand, and consumer research for German enterprise and media clients—comparable in regional focus though more digitally native.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/klare-antworten-gmbh

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Klare Antworten