What Bormann and Gordon does

Bormann & Gordon is a privately held German consulting and research firm (legal entity: Bormann & Gordon Unternehmensberatung GmbH) headquartered in Bad Homburg, specializing in point-of-sale (POS) and shopper research. Founded around 1984, the firm has over 40 years of experience advising consumer goods manufacturers and retailers across the food, beverage, tobacco, near-food, non-food, OTC pharmacy, and convenience/gas station channels on the 4Ps (Product, Placement, Promotion, Price) at retail. Its service portfolio spans Category Management Consulting, Shopper Research, Controlled Store Tests, POS Audits, and POS Excellence for pharmacies, delivered through a small core team (11-50) supported by a nationwide field network of ~120 freelancers operating directly at POS.

The firm's proprietary assets include the B&G Shopper Monitor Tankstelle (a multi-client gas-station shopper study running since 2004 with ~2,500 annual interviews), the POS Monitor Pharmacy (covering ~2,500 pharmacies four times yearly), and SPOTR (a real-time secondary placement tracking tool co-developed with POSpulse and its ~600,000-user app community). Core methodology combines field surveys, controlled field experiments using scanner data, shopper interviews, and loyalty card data analysis. The firm maintains strategic data partnerships with NielsenIQ and IQVIA, and a core test-market partnership with REWE providing access to 50+ retail test stores. Customer logos include Brown-Forman, Lactalis, Lekkerland, Kaufland, Schwarzwaldmilch, REWE, and IQVIA.

Commercially, Bormann & Gordon operates a sales-led, project-based professional services model with two principal revenue streams: bespoke consulting engagements and shared-cost multi-client studies. There is no public pricing, no self-serve or product-led motion, and no disclosed revenue. Markets served are primarily Germany with extension into Austria and Switzerland. The company is founder/partner-owned (Managing Partner Reiner Graul appears as primary leader), without external institutional investment, and is actively operating with 2024 press activity.

Name

Bormann and Gordon

Legal name

Bormann & Gordon Unternehmensberatung GmbH

Website

https://bormann-gordon.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bormann & Gordon is a German consulting and research firm advising consumer goods manufacturers and retailers on point-of-sale and shopper research across food, beverage, OTC pharmacy, and convenience channels via category management, controlled store tests, and field-based POS analytics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bad Homburg

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. Consulting Services: Category management consulting and strategic advisory services for industry and retail clients, including introduction and implementation of Category Management processes, sales intelligence, and promotion efficiency.
2. Research and Field Survey Services: POS surveys, shopper research, controlled store tests, and POS tracking projects conducted as project-based engagements with named clients and multi-client studies.
3. Multi-Client Studies: Shared-cost multi-client studies (e.g., Shopper Monitor Gas Station, POS Monitor Pharmacy) where costs are distributed among participating companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bormann & Gordon is a German consulting and research firm advising manufacturers and retailers on point-of-sale (POS) optimization and shopper behavior. Core services include Category Management consulting, Shopper Research, Controlled Store Tests (real-life field experiments), and POS Audits/Surveys, delivered through a core team in Bad Homburg and a nationwide network of approximately 120 freelance field researchers operating directly at retail POS across Germany.

Product overview

Bormann & Gordon is a consulting and research company offering a portfolio of professional services centered on point-of-sale (POS) optimization and shopper research. The core offerings include Category Management Consulting, Controlled Store Tests, POS Surveys/Audits, and specialized Shopper Research services. The company operates specialized products including the B&G Shopper Monitor Tankstelle (gas station industry study since 2004) and POS Excellence Pharmacy (pharmacy channel monitoring). Additional services include Inventory Management, Sales Intelligence, and Promotion Efficiency analysis. The company is headquartered in Bad Homburg with a nationwide network of approximately 120 freelancers conducting field research across all relevant retail channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Category Management Beratung (Category Management Consulting) Professional advisory services for implementing and managing category management processes between manufacturers and retailers, covering all relevant retail channels and both food and non-food categories.
• Shopper Research Research services that generate shopper insights to identify opportunities at the point of sale, including understanding decision and purchase behavior of shoppers across retail channels.
• Kontrollierter Markttest (Controlled Store Test) Real-life field experiments under controlled conditions that provide a sound basis for predicting sales and market share impact of product, placement, or promotion changes, using scanner data from retail partners.
• POS-Erhebungen (POS Audits) Surveys to analyze the current situation of product presentation at the point of sale, including out-of-stock measurements, facing surveys, and sales implementation assessments conducted by nationwide field freelancers.
• POS Exzellenz Apotheke (POS Excellence Pharmacy) Comprehensive POS monitoring and optimization services for pharmacy channels, including the POS Monitor Pharmacy covering approximately 2,500 pharmacies assessed four times per year for product placement, placement quality, and advertising visibility.
• B&G Shopper Monitor Tankstelle (Shopper Monitor Gas Station) Multi-client tracking study of shopper behavior at gas stations, conducted since 2004. Includes approximately 2,500 customer interviews per year at POS, surveys of gas station operators, and a representative population survey of light/occasional customers and usage barriers.
• Inventarisierung (Inventory Management) Complete retail store inventory services including process conception, test inventories, staffing, deployment planning, data verification, and preparation for trade optimization.
• Sales Intelligence & Promotion Efficiency Advisory services that quantify sales effects and provide benchmarking data for promotion evaluation, including assessment of POS promotions using scanner data and customer card analysis.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~2,500 customer interviews conducted per year at gas station POS as part of the Shopper Monitor Gas Station
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• REWEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2020Test market cooperation launched August 2020 between REWE (one of Germany's largest food retailers) and B&G (with 50 years of experience in controlled store testing). The partnership offers manufacturers new testing and innovative analysis possibilities using 50+ REWE test stores from different regions. Capabilities include new product tests, packaging and assortment changes, placement and price alternatives. B&G serves as the central contact and full-service provider including listing coordination with REWE.
• NielsenIQcoreTechnology or IntegrationNielsenIQ is described as THE partner for the most comprehensive and clear understanding of Consumer Intelligence worldwide. As a leading provider of exceptionally comprehensive, unbiased insights into global consumer behaviour, NielsenIQ supports B&G's data-driven consulting approach with consumer intelligence data.
• IQVIAcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for OTC pharmacy market since 2008. Through cooperation with QuintilesIMS (now IQVIA), B&G can evaluate the sales impact of various POS scenarios by linking POS data with sales data. IQVIA's Human Data Science capabilities provide the analytical backbone for pharmacy POS performance measurement. All relevant OTC companies participate in the POS Monitor Pharmacy via this partnership.
• Lift-up (Praxis-Netzwerk)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLift-up is a practice network that supports clients around Shopper Marketing, Category Management, and Sales Development. Clients benefit from the network's long-standing practical experience and can find the right specialist for their current challenges. The network develops individual and practice-oriented solutions considering the latest scientific research.
• GetNetCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGetNetC supports beverage manufacturers and retailers to grow profitably by combining modern methodological knowledge from consulting and POS/Shopper market research with comprehensive best practice knowledge and extensive implementation experience. Initiators include B&G Managing Director Reiner Graul along with Claudia Troullier and Peter Klein. The partnership promises more market penetration for beverage brands.
• POSpulsecoreTechnology or IntegrationJoint development of SPOTR (Secondary Placement Online Tracker) — a real-time display tracking tool. POSpulse contributes its 600,000-member app community to capture photos and data on product displays across retail stores. B&G provides analytical expertise to code and interpret the data for KPI dashboards. The tool provides manufacturers and retailers with benchmarks for optimizing secondary placement strategies.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GfK: German-origin market research firm with deep consumer and retail panels in Europe. Overlaps with B&G in shopper and retail insights but serves clients across a much wider portfolio of research categories.
• IRI: Specialist in retail and POS measurement, particularly in FMCG. Provides scanner-data-driven insights that compete head-on with B&G's Controlled Store Test and Sales Intelligence offerings for manufacturer clients.
• IQVIA: Healthcare and OTC data powerhouse. Long-standing Core partner of B&G for OTC pharmacy POS and competes indirectly in OTC analytics with broader sales-data capabilities than B&G can offer on its own.
• Ipsos: Global market research group with strong retail and shopper practice. Comparable to B&G in shopper research methodology and client base, but operates at global scale across many categories beyond POS.
• YouGov: Global research and consumer panel operator with growing retail and shopper analytics. Provides syndicated and custom research to many of the same manufacturer and retailer accounts that B&G serves in Germany.
• NielsenIQ: Global leader in consumer intelligence and retail measurement. Listed as a Core partner of B&G and competes at the top end with broader, cross-market consumer and POS data products that overlap with B&G's manufacturer and retailer analytics.
• Kantar: Worldpanel and shopper insights division of Kantar delivers household and retail panel data across multiple countries. Overlaps with B&G's POS Monitor programs at a multi-market level.

Direct peers

• eye square: Berlin-based shopper and brand experience research firm using implicit and eye-tracking methods. Comparable to B&G in serving German and international brands with shopper insights, but differentiates on implicit measurement rather than POS field execution.

Emerging players

• POSpulse: Mobile crowdsourcing platform for in-store audits and the joint developer of B&G's SPOTR tool. Closely tied to B&G via partnership, but its app community can be deployed independently, making it both ally and emerging competitor.

Regional players

• Rheingold Institut: German qualitative market and consumer psychology research firm. Shares B&G's DACH-only footprint and serves overlapping manufacturer and retailer clients, but competes on depth of qualitative insight rather than quantitative POS measurement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bormann-gordon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Bormann and Gordon