IRB

What IRB does

IRB Europe SPRL is a Brussels-headquartered market research consultancy, established in the 1980s as one of the first truly pan-European research firms. The company operates as a professional ad hoc research agency specializing in B2B and public sector studies, serving manufacturers, service providers, and government/regulatory bodies across sectors including HVAC, Horeca, agriculture, automotive, construction machines, logistics, financial services, and industrial cleaning, alongside public-sector themes such as EU regulation, climate change, fair trade, pollution, and diversity monitoring.

The firm executes both quantitative and qualitative research projects, offering face-to-face interviews, focus groups, in-depth interviews, telephone interviews (CATI), online surveys, mystery shopping, and desk research in up to seven languages (English, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish). It conducts field research directly in Benelux, France, and the UK, and extends coverage across wider Europe and to the USA, Canada, and Latin America via partner networks including the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN). Methodological discipline is positioned as a differentiator: every new questionnaire is piloted, language versions are hand-checked for consistency, and data coherence is manually verified before tabulation.

IRB is a privately held SPRL (Belgian private limited company) with 1–10 employees, low overheads, and project-based professional services revenue. It is GDPR compliant, an ESOMAR member, and an associate member of WIN. No external funding, M&A activity, or disclosed financial figures are present in the source data.

Name

IRB

Legal name

IRB Europe SPRL

Website

https://irbeurope.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IRB Europe is a Brussels-based, privately-held market research consultancy specializing in ad hoc B2B and public sector studies, serving European clients directly and extending to North and Latin America via partner networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Etterbeek

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom Market Research Services: Ad hoc research agency providing custom market research studies to B2B and public sector clients. Revenue generated through project-based engagements for survey design, data collection, analysis, and reporting services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

IRB Europe is a professional ad hoc market research agency specializing in business-to-business and public sector studies. The company designs and conducts custom quantitative and qualitative research projects—including large multi-country surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, telephone interviews, online surveys, mystery shopping, and desk research—delivering carefully piloted questionnaires, multi-language consistency, manual data verification, and clear tabulations and presentations to clients across Europe.

Product overview

IRB Europe is a full-service European market research agency offering both quantitative and qualitative research services. The company operates two core offerings: Business to Business Research Studies covering sectors such as HVAC, Horeca, Financial Services, Agriculture, Logistics, Construction Machines, Industrial Cleaning and Disinfection, and Automotive; and Public Sector Research Studies addressing areas including EU regulations, climate change, fair trade, pollution, housing, and diversity. These are supported by a suite of research methodologies including face-to-face interviews, focus groups, telephone interviews, online surveys, mystery shopping, and desk research, all designed and piloted to ensure respondent understanding and data quality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ESOMARcoreOthersIRB Europe is a member of ESOMAR, the professional association for market, social and opinion researchers. Membership demonstrates adherence to professional standards and the ESOMAR code and guidelines, including GDPR compliance and The Efamro/Esomar Guidance Note for the Research Sector.
• Worldwide Independent Network (WIN)coreOthersIRB Europe is an Associate member of Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research and Opinion Poll, providing access to global research capabilities and international collaboration with independent market research firms.
• Field Research Partners (Europe)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartners across wider Europe enabling field research coverage beyond direct operations in Benelux, France, and UK. Extends research capabilities across the broader European region.
• International Research PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnerships enabling research coverage beyond Europe to USA, Canada, and Latin America for clients requiring international data collection outside European markets.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• GfK (now part of NIQ): Consumer and B2B market research firm with strong European presence and public sector capabilities — comparable client overlap in B2B and policy research mandates.
• Ipsos: Global market research leader with significant B2B and public sector practice — represents the large incumbent competitive set IRB Europe competes against for larger multi-country European mandates.
• Kantar: Global data, insights and consulting company with extensive B2B and public sector research offerings — a broad incumbent that competes with IRB on large-scale custom research projects.
• Mintel: Global market research firm combining syndicated and custom research with strong B2B and consumer coverage — serves overlapping client segments in Europe and competes for B2B research budgets.
• ORC International (now part of Engine Insights): International research and analytics firm with B2B and opinion research capabilities — comparable custom research methodology and European delivery model.

Direct peers

• Kadence International: Independent market research agency with European field operations and multi-country B2B/custom research focus — comparable scale and boutique positioning to IRB Europe.
• Human8 (formerly InSites Consulting): Belgian-headquartered consumer and B2B insight agency with strong European footprint and modern research communities — directly comparable operating geography and methodology breadth to IRB Europe.
• B2B International: Specialist B2B market research agency with deep global research capabilities — directly comparable to IRB Europe's B2B research focus and methodology mix, though typically larger in scale.
• The European Research Company (TERCO): Independent European market research agency specializing in cross-border B2B and public sector studies — directly comparable niche, geography, and methodology set to IRB Europe.

Emerging players

• Dalia Research: Tech-enabled market research firm with proprietary online panel capabilities across Europe — represents the digital/panel-driven competitive threat to IRB's traditional fieldwork model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/irbeurope

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 IRB