Grupo Imasd

What Grupo Imasd does

Grupo Imasd is a Medellín, Colombia-based foresight, strategy, and design consultancy founded in 2006 that serves consumer brands, predominantly in the food and beverage sector. The firm operates as a 14-person multidisciplinary studio organized around three service modules: Future (design research, trend foresight, experience design), Design (brand strategy, packaging innovation, structural and graphic design, sustainability and circularity), and Knowledge (ideation workshops, prototyping, capability-building). Its client roster spans major Colombian and Latin American consumer brands—including Alpina, Grupo Nutresa, Club Colombia, Corona, and Turbana—alongside mid-market and mission-driven brands such as ChipChas, Haka, Evok, ÜTAÍ, and Afrochip.

The studio's intellectual property rests on proprietary methodologies rather than software: Cool Kitchen, a physical experimentation space for food product prototyping with guest chefs and end users; Coolhunting, an annual international trend immersion practice (Copenhagen, London, Satellite 2020) producing published reports; and Coolpills, a set of category research reports across Snacks, Bebidas, Cuidado Personal, and Practicidad. Beyond professional services, the firm operates Coolshop, a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront in Colombian Pesos selling The Coolbook 3 publication, The Cool Cards creativity deck, The Cool Magazine, and free downloadable research reports. Marketing is content-led across blog, newsletter, podcast ('¿De dónde nacen las ideas?' on Spotify and YouTube), and social channels.

Revenue is generated primarily through project-based, quote-driven consulting engagements with enterprise and mid-market consumer brands, supplemented by ancillary unit sales of physical and digital knowledge products through Coolshop. The company is privately held, founder- and family-led (David Freyre and Manuela Martínez as Creative Directors), with no disclosed institutional funding, parent company, or public listing. International and regional design recognition includes FOODA Food By Design (Madrid, 2024), Lápiz de Acero structural design (Colombia, 2024), and Latampack Gold Best Food Packaging (2020).

Name

Grupo Imasd

Legal name

Grupo Imasd

Website

https://grupoimasd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grupo Imasd is a Medellín, Colombia-based foresight, strategy, and design consultancy serving consumer brands—primarily in food and beverage—through brand strategy, packaging innovation, and food design services, supplemented by Coolshop publications and creative tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Strategic Design Consulting

NAICS

Industrial Design Services (541420), Graphic Design Services (54143)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAAAAAO

Activation/Experiential Creative Agencies

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Advertising Agencies (Full-Service/Creative)

SECONDARYBPAFAAAA

Integrated Advertising (Brand + Performance + Media)

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Full-Service Advertising Agencies

Keywords

• Strategic design consulting
• Brand packaging design
• Food design services
• Consumer brand innovation
• Design research foresight

Headquarters

HQ city

Medellín

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Design Services: ImasD generates primary revenue through project-based consulting engagements with consumer brands. Services span brand strategy, packaging design, food design, experience design, and foresight/strategy — typically structured as scoped professional service engagements.
2. Coolshop Product Sales: Direct e-commerce sales of proprietary publications (The Coolbook 3, The Cool Magazine), creative tools (The Cool Cards), and digital downloadable research reports (Coolpills, Cool Hunting). Products sold in COP currency to consumers and professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Grupo Imasd is a Medellín-based strategic design consultancy founded in 2006 that delivers foresight, strategy, and design services to consumer brands. The firm specializes in food and beverage design, packaging design, brand strategy, and experience design for consumer products companies. It also publishes proprietary design research and trend-forecasting products (Coolpills, Coolhunting) and design tools through its Coolshop channel.

Product overview

Grupo Imasd is a foresight, strategy, and design studio that operates as a single integrated offering combining research, creative services, and proprietary knowledge products. The core offering includes strategic design services organized into three service modules: Future (futuro), Design (diseño), and Knowledge (conocimiento). Complementing the service business, the company sells proprietary knowledge products through its Coolshop: The Coolbook 3 (an editorial research publication on food industry trends), The Cool Cards (creativity exercises for teams), The Cool Magazine (a periodical publication in three editions), Coolpills (market research reports across four categories), and Coolhunting (international trend observation reports from Copenhagen, London, and Satellite). The studio also produces a podcast available on Spotify and YouTube.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Coolbook: Inspirational tool and publication exploring the food industry through design perspective, analyzing brands, initiatives, technologies and trends.
• The Cool Magazine
• The Cool Cards
• Coolshop
• Coolpills
• Coolhunting

Products and services

• Brand Strategy Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• Jet Postre achieved 149% of its 2023 sales budget and 104% of its customer acquisition goal following launch — described as Jet's best launch in recent years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Wink: Brazil-based independent branding and design studio serving consumer brands across Latin America. Comparable in size, regional positioning, and integrated design-plus-strategy offering.
• Bloom: Branding and design agency focused on food and beverage, with services spanning brand strategy, packaging, and innovation. Direct competitor in the F&B brand design niche.
• Pearlfisher: London-based independent brand and packaging design agency with a strong specialization in food and beverage. Direct comparable to ImasD on the F&B packaging, brand identity, and strategic design positioning.
• Pentagram: Independent multi-partner design consultancy with a partnership structure and integrated design, brand, and strategy offering. Directly comparable operating model to a multi-disciplinary design studio.
• Bulletproof: Strategic packaging design agency with a deep food and beverage portfolio. Highly comparable on offering mix (brand + packaging + strategy) and target customer profile (enterprise CPG brands).
• Mucca: Latin American (Argentina-based) branding and packaging design studio serving consumer brands. Comparable on regional footprint, multi-disciplinary approach, and enterprise client targeting.
• Coley Porter Bell: UK-based brand design agency historically focused on food and drink packaging. Comparable on F&B specialization, structural packaging design, and brand strategy service modules.
• Anagrama: Independent Mexican branding and design studio with similar Latin American positioning, multi-disciplinary service model, and enterprise client base. Closest geographic and cultural comparable.

Broad incumbents

• Interbrand: Global brand consultancy with broad industry coverage and strategy-heavy offering. Comparable on strategic branding work but far larger and more diversified than ImasD's niche studio.
• Landor & Fitch: Global brand consultancy offering brand strategy, identity, and packaging at scale. Overlaps with ImasD on brand strategy and packaging but operates across many industries and geographies at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQnIotoricBen6-XVCNQY2w
• Facebookfacebook.com/GrupoImasD
• Instagraminstagram.com/grupoimasd
• Pinterestes.pinterest.com/estudioimasd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grupo-imasd

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 Grupo Imasd