What Segmento does

Segmento Pesquisas is a private Brazilian market research institute founded in 1987 and headquartered in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. The firm operates under the proprietary 'Pesquisa Viva' (Living Research) methodology—a continuous intelligence cycle that integrates qualitative and quantitative research to translate consumer behavior into strategic direction—and complements it with the Net Emotion Score (NES), an in-house −100 to +100 emotional-attribution metric correlated with NPS. Its service portfolio spans consumer behavior research, brand image studies, competitive positioning analysis, product attractiveness testing, customer journey mapping, mystery shopping, ethnographic research, focus groups, electoral polling, public management diagnostics, and event-based research.

The company is led by Ramiro Schuch Freire, who has operated the firm for over two decades and emphasizes interpretive capability over raw data collection. The customer base is enterprise-led, with documented engagements including Claro Digital (telecom, 40+ studies since 1996), 3 Corações (coffee/beverages, focus groups plus ethnography), and Sport Club Internacional (sports, member retention research). Headcount sits in the 11–50 range and the firm maintains a single headquarters in Porto Alegre with in-house focus-group facilities, while its named operating geographies extend across Brazil.

Commercially, Segmento runs a consultative B2B professional services model with quote-based, project-scoped engagements sold through direct sales to directors and senior leadership. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm has accumulated 4,000+ research studies, 1,000+ focus groups, and over one million interviews across its four-decade history, and runs continuous tracking programs including Brazil's first Top of Mind study (initiated 1991) and the Top Móvel furniture-sector monitor (initiated 2005). It is founder-owned and independent, with no institutional investors, parent entity, or software-platform distribution model.

Name

Segmento

Legal name

Segmento Pesquisas

Website

https://segmentopesquisas.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Segmento Pesquisas is a Porto Alegre-based Brazilian market research institute that delivers qualitative and quantitative consumer behavior studies, brand tracking, and strategic decision-support services to enterprise clients across telecom, beverages, sports, and other sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Competitive Intelligence & Benchmarking (BPAHALAB), Market Research, Analytics & Consumer Insights (BPAFAAAM), Brand Consulting, Audits & Research (Brand Health, Equity, Competitive) (BPAFAEAJ)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Consumer behavior research
• Brand image research
• Competitive positioning analysis
• Customer satisfaction research

Headquarters

HQ city

Porto Alegre

HQ country

Brazil

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Market Research Services: Professional services revenue generated through custom market research studies, including consumer behavior research, brand image studies, competitive positioning analysis, customer satisfaction measurement (NPS, CES, CSAT), journey and experience mapping, product attractiveness studies, and public management diagnostics. Projects range from focused qualitative studies to comprehensive quantitative research programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Segmento Pesquisas is a strategic market research institute that delivers custom qualitative and quantitative consumer research studies — including consumer behavior, brand image, competitive positioning, customer satisfaction (NPS/CSAT/CES), customer journey and experience, product attractiveness, trends and innovation, electoral, and public management diagnostics — for corporate directors and leadership teams. Its proprietary "Pesquisa Viva" methodology and techniques such as focus groups, ethnographic research, and mystery shopping are used to turn behavioral data into actionable strategic direction. Services are sold on a custom, per-project basis to enterprise clients across Brazil.

Product overview

Segmento Pesquisas (Instituto de Pesquisa Viva) is a strategic market research company with nearly 40 years of experience, offering a portfolio of research services centered on its proprietary Pesquisa Viva methodology—a continuous cycle of qualitative and quantitative intelligence gathering focused on consumer behavior interpretation. The core offering combines research types including customer satisfaction (NPS/CSAT/CES), consumer behavior, brand image, competitive positioning, and journey mapping, supported by specialized methodologies such as focus groups, mystery shopping, ethnographic research, and market testing. Additional specialized services cover electoral/political research, public management diagnostics, and event/fair research. The company positions itself as a strategic decision-support partner rather than a data-collection vendor, emphasizing interpretive capability over raw data volume.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pesquisa Viva (Living Research) [Pesquisa Viva] Segmento's proprietary continuous research methodology that integrates qualitative and quantitative approaches to transform consumer behavior data into strategic direction for corporate decision-makers.
• Customer Satisfaction Research (NPS, CSAT, CES) [Pesquisa de Satisfação de Clientes] Custom research service measuring customer loyalty, satisfaction, and effort using NPS, CSAT, and CES methodologies, sold to corporate clients seeking to evaluate and improve customer experience.
• Consumer Behavior Research [Pesquisa de Comportamento do Consumidor] Custom research on consumer habits, motivations, preferences, and decision-making factors to help companies understand market changes and consumer choices.
• Brand Image Research [Pesquisa de Imagem de Marcas] Custom research evaluating how consumers perceive a brand across values, personality, quality, and other attributes relative to competitors. Sold to corporate clients seeking brand insight.
• Competitive Positioning Research [Pesquisa de Posicionamento Competitivo] Custom research analyzing how a company is perceived, remembered, and used relative to competitors, identifying strategic improvement opportunities.
• Competition Analysis Research [Pesquisa de Análise de Concorrência] Custom research identifying competitor strengths and weaknesses across products, services, pricing, and marketing strategies to inform strategic decisions.
• Trends and Innovation Research [Pesquisa de Tendências e Inovação] Custom research identifying changes in consumer behavior, new technologies, business models, and emerging market opportunities for innovation-driven clients.
• Product and Service Attractiveness Research [Pesquisa de Atratividade de Produtos e Serviços] Custom research identifying factors that make products or services more or less attractive to target audiences, supporting product and portfolio decisions.
• Electoral and Political Campaign Research [Pesquisas Eleitorais e de Campanha Política] Custom research identifying voter opinions, preferences, and demands, and evaluating political campaign performance for parties, candidates, and allied organizations.
• Public Management Diagnostic Research [Pesquisas de Diagnóstico de Gestão Pública] Custom research evaluating government policy effectiveness, identifying improvement areas, and informing public administration decisions for public sector clients.
• Customer Journey and Purchase Experience Research [Pesquisa de Jornada e Experiência de Compra] Custom research mapping customer journey touchpoints and identifying where experiences strengthen or lose value, supporting CX strategy and improvement.
• Event and Trade Show Research [Pesquisa em Feiras e Eventos] Custom research evaluating participant experience, satisfaction, and content at events and trade shows, gathering market intelligence from event environments for organizers and exhibitors.
• Focus Groups [Grupo Focal] Qualitative research offering using structured small-group discussions of 6-8 participants led by trained moderators to explore consumer perceptions, opinions, and behaviors. Sold as a standalone service to corporate clients.
• Mystery Shopping [Cliente Oculto] Research offering where trained evaluators pose as ordinary customers to assess service quality, internal processes, and customer experience in an impartial and detailed manner. Sold as a standalone service to corporate clients.
• Ethnographic Research [Pesquisa Etnográfica] Research offering involving in-home visits and observation of consumers in natural environments to understand cultural contexts of consumption, capturing photos and video footage. Sold as a standalone service.
• Market Testing [Teste de Mercado] Research offering that validates product concepts, campaigns, and proposals with target audiences before full launch decisions. Sold as a standalone service to corporate clients.

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Qualtrics: Experience management and survey/research platform used widely for NPS, CSAT, and consumer experience measurement — overlaps directly with Segmento's customer satisfaction research line and represents a platform-shift risk.
• Toluna: Digital-first consumer insights and research technology company with panel-based, agile research capabilities; represents the technology-enabled model that pressures traditional qualitative research firms like Segmento.
• MindMiners: Brazilian consumer insights platform combining community panels with technology-enabled research; an emerging domestic competitor that brings a digital/methodology alternative to traditional qualitative boutiques like Segmento.

Broad incumbents

• NielsenIQ Brasil: Global consumer measurement and insights company active in Brazil, providing retail/consumer behavior data, brand tracking, and category intelligence — competes for the same enterprise CPG and retail research budgets as Segmento.
• Ipsos Brasil: Global market research and consumer insights firm with a major Brazilian operation offering brand health tracking, consumer behavior, and ad-hoc studies — directly overlapping with Segmento's core service lines but at a vastly larger scale.
• GfK Brazil: Global market research group (now part of NielsenIQ) with Brazilian operations covering consumer behavior, brand, and innovation research — competes for corporate research budgets in the same verticals Segmento serves.
• Kantar Brasil: World-leading research group operating in Brazil across brand equity (BrandZ), consumer panels, and ad effectiveness — competes with Segmento on brand image research, consumer insights, and continuous tracking programs.

Direct peers

• Datafolha: One of Brazil's most recognized market and opinion research institutes; similarly positioned as a Brazilian-origin research firm offering consumer behavior, brand, and political polling studies across the country.
• IBOPE Inteligência: Historic Brazilian consumer and media research institute offering brand tracking, consumer behavior, and ad hoc studies; a longstanding domestic competitor to Segmento with similar methodology mix and enterprise client base.
• Quaest Pesquisa: Brazilian research and consulting firm focused on public opinion, electoral polling, and strategic research for corporate clients — directly comparable to Segmento's Brazilian-market research practice.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/segmentopesquisas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/segmento-pesquisas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Segmento