Hiestermann & Frömchen

What Hiestermann & Frömchen does

Hiestermann & Frömchen GmbH is a privately held, founder-owned market research institute headquartered in Gießen, Germany, founded in early 2013 by Lutz Hiestermann and Hartmut Loeben-Frömchen. Both founders bring over 20 years of market research experience gained at prior institutes including Consultic, and they concentrate the firm's expertise on four primary verticals: Healthcare/Pharma, ICT/Web/Technology, Automotive/Mobility, and Public/Semi-Public sector clients, with secondary work in FMCG and Construction/Crafts. The firm operates with a deliberately small core team of four (two managing directors, one senior project manager/moderator, and one project manager/moderator), supplemented by a long-standing partner ecosystem that handles recruitment, translation, fieldwork, survey programming, and statistical evaluation.

The service portfolio is structured around three integrated offerings: qualitative research (depth interviews, group discussions, ethnography, online communities/diaries), quantitative research (online, telephone, and face-to-face surveys), and market analysis (desk research combined with expert interviews). A distinctive methodological feature is internal moderation by trained project managers rather than external moderators, intended to preserve continuity from briefing through reporting. Delivery modalities span remote (web interviews, video conferencing, online communities) and in-person (studio, on-site) research. The firm differentiates itself as the second German market research institute and the first in the Gießen district to hold GWÖ (Common Good Economy) certification, awarded in June 2023.

The business model is project-based professional services, with custom quote-based pricing determined by methodology, sample size, and scope, and multi-year contracts with long-tenured clients as the dominant revenue pattern. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-client enterprise engagement with no intermediary channels; the firm does not employ formal marketing, relying instead on founder reputation, word-of-mouth, and a bilingual German/English informational website. The company has been entirely self-funded since inception, having never required outside capital, and reports that 75% of 2021 revenue came from clients with relationships exceeding 10 years.

Name

Hiestermann & Frömchen

Legal name

Hiestermann & Frömchen GmbH

Website

https://hiestermann-froemchen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hiestermann & Frömchen GmbH is a German founder-owned market research boutique in Gießen, founded in 2013, providing qualitative, quantitative, and market analysis services to enterprise and institutional clients across Healthcare/Pharma, ICT/Web, Automotive, and Public/Semi-Public sectors via a four-person core team and long-standing partner network.

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-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHALAJ

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Research, Analytics & Expert Services

SECONDARYMPAAALAD

Fieldwork & Data Collection (Online Panels, CATI/CAPI, Fieldwork)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Market Research & Consumer Insights

Keywords

• Market research services
• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Market analysis consulting
• B2B research institute

Headquarters

HQ city

Gießen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Market Research Projects: Project-based consulting fees for custom market research engagements. Services include qualitative research (in-depth interviews, group discussions), quantitative research (surveys), and market analysis. Pricing is quote-based, tailored to project scope and methodology.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hiestermann & Frömchen is a market research institute that delivers custom qualitative, quantitative, and market analysis projects to enterprise and institutional clients. Engagements combine depth interviews, group discussions, online/telephone/face-to-face surveys, expert interviews, and desk research, all moderated internally by senior project managers to preserve quality from briefing through reporting.

Product overview

Hiestermann & Frömchen GmbH is a market research institute offering a unified service portfolio centered on qualitative research, quantitative research, and market analysis. The company combines methodological expertise with industry-specific knowledge across healthcare/pharma, ICT/web, automotive, and public sector domains. Their service offering integrates multiple research methodologies (group discussions, individual interviews, online communities, surveys) delivered through various channels (phone, online, on-site, studio) under a single project management approach. Founded in 2013, the company positions itself as an agile alternative to larger research institutes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Qualitative Research In-depth qualitative market research including group discussions, one-on-one (depth) interviews, and ethnographic observation to uncover underlying motivations and the 'reason why' behind consumer behavior. Delivered for enterprise and institutional clients across Healthcare/Pharma, ICT/Web, Automotive, FMCG, and Public Sector verticals.
• Quantitative Research Large-scale quantitative market research using online surveys, telephone surveys, and face-to-face interviews to identify market structures, measure product acceptance, and document changes over time. Delivered for enterprise and institutional clients to provide representative data and trend tracking.
• Market Analysis Desk research combined with expert interviews to describe markets and trends, including market share analysis, competitor assessment, and market forecasting. Provided for enterprise and institutional clients as a standalone service or integrated with qualitative and quantitative fieldwork.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% of 2021 revenue came from clients with 10+ year relationships
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Recruitment PartnerscoreOthersLong-standing partners (some for 20 years) for participant recruitment in market research studies. Part of the trusted partner network supporting project execution.
• Translation PartnerscoreOthersLong-standing translation service providers for multilingual research projects. Part of the trusted partner network supporting project execution.
• Fieldwork PartnerscoreOthersTrusted fieldwork execution partners for conducting interviews and surveys. Long-standing relationships built over decades.
• Programming PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartners for survey programming and data processing in quantitative research projects. Long-standing relationships supporting the full methodology spectrum.
• Evaluation PartnerscoreOthersPartners for statistical analysis and data evaluation in research projects. Long-standing trusted relationships in the partner network.
• BRAVEAURORAminorOthersInternational charitable organization supported by the company through regular donations as part of social responsibility commitment.
• BandsupporterminorOthersOfficial supporter of Bandsupporter, an organization supported through the company's social commitment initiatives.
• DH+P Gesellschaft für Unternehmensberatung mbHminorOthersData protection consulting firm providing data protection officer services, including Mr. Arnd Harnischmacher who serves as the company's Data Protection Officer.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Skopos Group: Skopos is a Cologne-based market and consumer research institute with deep expertise in FMCG, retail, and healthcare verticals. It is a direct peer because it sells bespoke qualitative and quantitative research to the same enterprise and institutional clients in Germany.
• Splendid Research: Splendid Research is a Hamburg-based full-service market research institute offering qualitative and quantitative research across multiple sectors. It is a direct peer because it competes in the same German boutique-to-mid-market research segment with comparable methodology breadth and B2B client base.
• Dialego: Dialego is an Aachen-based market research firm providing custom qualitative and quantitative studies with a strong online-panel capability. It is a direct peer because it targets similar German enterprise clients with multi-method research services at comparable scale.
• forsa Gesellschaft für Sozialforschung und statistische Analysen: forsa is a Berlin-based market and social research institute with strong public-sector and political research credentials. It is a direct peer because it serves German institutional and enterprise clients with comparable qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
• GIM (Gesellschaft für Innovative Marktforschung): GIM is a Heidelberg-based full-service market research institute specializing in qualitative research, brand and innovation studies. It is a direct peer because it offers comparable qualitative-heavy methodology and serves similar German enterprise clients across FMCG, automotive, and healthcare.
• infas Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft: infas is a Bonn-based social and market research institute with expertise in public-sector, healthcare, and mobility research. It is a direct peer because it competes for similar German institutional clients with mixed-method survey and qualitative capabilities.
• Psyma Group: Psyma is a Nuremberg-based international market research firm with expertise in B2B, technology, healthcare, and automotive sectors. It is a direct peer because it competes for similar German enterprise clients with qualitative and quantitative research, including online communities and expert interviews.

Broad incumbents

• Statista: Statista is a Hamburg-headquartered data and insights platform combining syndicated research with commissioned studies across industries. It is a broad incumbent because it competes for the same German enterprise market research budgets, though predominantly through data products rather than custom qualitative fieldwork.
• Ipsos Germany: Ipsos is a global market research firm with significant German operations covering healthcare, automotive, and public sector research. It is a broad incumbent because it offers the same qualitative-quantitative mix as the anchor but as part of a much larger global portfolio.
• Kantar Germany: Kantar is one of the world's largest market research and insights firms with a substantial German operation offering brand tracking, consumer panels, and ad effectiveness. It is a broad incumbent because it offers overlapping capabilities but at global scale and across a much wider portfolio than the boutique anchor.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Hiestermann & Frömchen