What Mustard does

Mustard is a UK-headquartered, independent market research agency founded in 1990 and operating as Mustard Market Research Limited, a privately held limited company (company number 06706816) registered in England and Wales. The firm is led by Managing Director Colin Auton alongside three Directors (Andrew Wiseman, Anthony Shephard-Williams, Gareth Hodgson) and a Research Director (Rebecca Harris), supported by a team that includes Senior Research Managers, a Data Operations Manager, Research Managers, Senior Research Executives and Market Research Apprentices. Headquartered in Manchester (The Lightwell, 61-63 Brown Street, M2 2JG), Mustard delivers custom qualitative and quantitative research services to enterprise clients across five primary verticals — Financial Services, Grocery/FMCG, Retail, Leisure & Tourism, and B2B (with additional work in Healthcare, Housing, Education, Government, Charity, Utilities and Professional Services) — and claims operational reach across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, North America, South America and Australasia.

The firm's research platform spans four service lines: audience research (segmentation, usage and attitude studies, needs exploration), brand research (positioning, tracking, awareness), experience research (CX, customer journey mapping, UX evaluation), and product research (NPD, proposition testing, pricing). Methodologically, Mustard combines qualitative techniques (online insight communities, focus groups, depth interviews, video diaries, ethnography, vox-pops) with quantitative methods (online and mobile surveys, CATI, CAPI), supported by a third-party technology stack including Forsta (survey programming and statistical analysis) and Qualzy (online community research), with Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Skype used for live qualitative fieldwork. The firm positions AI tools as a differentiator in identifying nuance in language and audience segments, and Director Anthony Shephard-Williams is publicly profiled as the in-house AI expert (MRS Research Hero). Output is delivered via a "storytelling" approach that uses video, animation, interactive debriefs and workshops to translate insight into action.

Mustard operates a sales-led, consultative go-to-market with no publicly disclosed pricing; engagements are project-based or retainer arrangements, with fees determined by scope, methodology and duration. Revenue is generated from bespoke market research services delivered directly to clients, with the firm acting as a preferred research partner for multiple marketing agencies. The firm holds a portfolio of regulated-sector credentials — MRS Company Partner status, Hellios FSQS (financial services), Cyber Essentials Plus, ICO registration, Achilles Silver Plus and EcoVadis Bronze — alongside signatory status on the MRS Inclusion Pledge, MRS Climate Pledge and Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter. Long-tenure enterprise clients include David Lloyd Clubs (10+ year relationship), Home Group (8+ year partnership), TPT Retirement Solutions (brand tracking since 2018), and Merlin Entertainments (Brand Attitude Measure tracker), with project outcomes cited including a 75% conversion uplift for Protolabs, a 13 percentage-point satisfaction gain for Bunzl Retail Supplies, and £600K of external funding leveraged for RNIB.

Name

Mustard

Legal name

Mustard Market Research Limited

Website

https://mustard-research.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mustard is an independent Manchester-headquartered UK market research agency founded in 1990, delivering custom qualitative and quantitative research across Financial Services, FMCG, Retail, Leisure & Tourism, and B2B for enterprise and public-sector clients worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B / Industrial Market Research (MPAAALAA)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Customer insight
• Brand tracking research

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

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. Market Research Services: Custom research projects for B2B and B2C clients across multiple sectors including Financial Services, Grocery/FMCG, Retail, Leisure & Tourism, and B2B. Services include audience research, brand research, experience research, and product research. Revenue generated through project fees and retainer arrangements for ongoing research programmes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Mustard is a Manchester-based market research agency that designs and delivers custom qualitative and quantitative research programmes for enterprise clients across Financial Services, Grocery/FMCG, Retail, Leisure & Tourism, and B2B sectors. Services span audience segmentation, brand tracking, customer experience research, and product/NPD research, executed through online insight communities, focus groups, depth interviews, video diaries, online/mobile surveys, CATI and CAPI, with AI-assisted analysis and storytelling-led debrief delivery.

Product overview

Mustard is a market research agency that provides qualitative and quantitative research services. The company does not offer a software product but rather delivers research services across four main areas: Audience research (customer segmentation, usage & attitude studies, needs exploration), Brand research (positioning, tracking, awareness), Experience research (satisfaction, journey mapping, UX), and Product research (NPD, proposition testing, pricing). These services are delivered through custom approaches combining online communities, focus groups, depth interviews, surveys (online, mobile, CATI, CAPI), and advanced analytics. Mustard also incorporates AI tools to enhance their research analysis, particularly for identifying nuance in language and audience insights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Qualitative Research Services
• Quantitative Research Services
• Brand Tracking and Research
• Audience Research
• Customer Experience (CX) Research
• Product Research

Quantifiable outcome

• Client saved £2m+ by implementing switch functionality from Mustard research findings
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers72 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Brands & AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Mustard has partnered with Brands & Agencies and Agency by Agency to launch a major study of brand-agency relationships. This collaboration involves conducting research on the state of AI adoption within the industry and brand-agency dynamics, contributing to industry knowledge and thought leadership.
• Agency by AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Joint research initiative with Mustard and Brands & Agencies to study brand-agency relationships and AI adoption in the marketing industry.
• MRS Advanced Insights & Analytics CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Mustard director Anthony Shephard-Williams led research on 'The Paradox of Qual Research at Scale' as part of the MRS Advanced Insights & Analytics Council white paper on AI and synthetic data in research.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kadence International: Global boutique market research firm specialising in qualitative and quantitative insight for consumer and B2B brands. Comparable to Mustard in offering custom insight communities, brand research and storytelling-style deliverables for enterprise clients across multiple sectors.
• Marketing Sciences Unlimited: UK-based independent market research agency of comparable size and scope, offering both quantitative and qualitative research services. Closely matches Mustard's business model: custom research projects, consultancy-led insight delivery, and similar enterprise client base across consumer and B2B sectors.
• B2B International: Specialist B2B market research agency serving enterprise and industrial clients globally. Directly comparable to Mustard's B2B vertical (Saint-Gobain, GE Healthcare, Sage, Stanley Black & Decker) in methodology, project scope and target buyer profile.
• Illuminas: UK-based research and insight consultancy working across brand, customer and employee experience. Comparable to Mustard in methodology mix (qual and quant), sector breadth and consultancy-led engagement model.
• Hall & Partners: Brand-led insight consultancy combining qualitative and quantitative research for global brands. Comparable to Mustard in specialism areas (brand tracking, positioning, customer experience) but operating at larger scale internationally.
• Bryter Research: Independent UK market research agency of similar size and seniority-led delivery model. Offers comparable qualitative and quantitative research services to enterprise clients in financial services, retail and B2B sectors.
• The Pine Consultancy: UK-based independent research and insight consultancy focused on brand, customer experience and audience research. Comparable to Mustard in size, mid-market positioning and emphasis on storytelling-driven insight delivery for enterprise clients.

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos: Global market research incumbent offering the full spectrum of quantitative, qualitative and social research across all sectors Mustard serves. Competes with Mustard in financial services, FMCG and retail RFPs but at vastly greater scale and with proprietary panels.
• Kantar: World-leading data, insights and consulting company with deep specialism in FMCG and retail (Mintel, Worldpanel). Overlaps directly with Mustard's Grocery/FMCG and Retail verticals at much larger scale.
• YouGov: Global online research and data analytics company with proprietary panel used for brand tracking, audience research and sector studies. Overlaps with Mustard's audience segmentation, brand tracking and financial services research offerings, though delivered via panel-based technology rather than bespoke fieldwork.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MustardResearch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@mustardMTD
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mustard
• Instagraminstagram.com/mustardresearch

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 Mustard