The Insights Group
The Insights Group is a Canadian sales and marketing services partnership formed in 2013 between Van de Water-Raymond and Impact Sales & Marketing, providing pan-Canadian CPG brand representation, merchandising, and trade marketing across grocery, pharmacy, mass, convenience, and petroleum retail channels.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersLaval, Canada
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
The Insights Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Insights Group
- Legal name
- Insights Group Inc.
- Website
- https://insightsgroup.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- The Insights Group is a Canadian sales and marketing services partnership formed in 2013 between Van de Water-Raymond and Impact Sales & Marketing, providing pan-Canadian CPG brand representation, merchandising, and trade marketing across grocery, pharmacy, mass, convenience, and petroleum retail channels.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where The Insights Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Laval
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
The Insights Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Sales and Marketing Services: Insights Group provides comprehensive sales and marketing services including strategic distribution planning, sales force deployment, merchandising, promotional activities, and market analysis. The company serves as an intermediary between product brands and retailers across Canada.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
The Insights Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Insights Group provides comprehensive sales and marketing services to consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands seeking distribution and retail presence across Canada. Through its two partner companies, Van de Water-Raymond (Eastern Canada) and Impact Sales & Marketing (Western Canada), it delivers dedicated field sales force deployment, in-store merchandising, promotional activities, trade fair participation, strategic distribution planning, market and competition audits, and e-commerce support. It also offers a Buy and Sell/Importation service that provides turnkey solutions for foreign brands entering the Canadian market.
Product overview
The Insights Group is a strategic partnership between Van de Water-Raymond and Impact Sales & Marketing, two Canadian family businesses offering unified sales, marketing, distribution, and importation services. The group operates as a single platform providing pan-Canadian coverage: Van de Water-Raymond serves Eastern Canada while Impact Sales & Marketing serves Western Canada. The core offerings consist of Sales and Marketing Services (strategic planning, dedicated sales force, merchandising, promotional activities, market audits, e-commerce) and Buy and Sell/Importation Services (import product promotion, turnkey solutions).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sales and Marketing Services Comprehensive sales and marketing services for CPG brands across Canadian retail channels, including strategic distribution and marketing planning, dedicated sales force per sector, regular in-store merchandising visits, promotional activities, trade fair participation, sales and category analysis, performance reporting, market and competition audits, and e-commerce support. Serves consumer goods brands in food, beverages, personal care, beauty, health, and household categories.
- Buy and Sell / Importation Services Importation-focused buying and selling service that provides turnkey solutions for foreign brands entering the Canadian market. Leverages 50 years of local market knowledge and a wide contact network to promote imported products through proven strategies that foster consumer engagement. Helps international brands enter Canadian retail without establishing a local subsidiary.
Companies that use The Insights Group
Customer profileNamed customers23 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Insights Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Insights Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Van de Water-RaymondcoreVan de Water-Raymond is a family-owned business established in 1960 with an excellent reputation in sales, marketing, warehousing and distribution. It has more than 160 employees and covers Eastern Canada (Quebec, Ontario, and Atlantic provinces). Van de Water-Raymond meets the needs of businesses at all levels of trade in food, pharmaceutical, and retail industries.
- Impact Sales & MarketingcoreImpact Sales & Marketing provides a full range of sales and marketing services to grocery, drug, mass, club, convenience, and petroleum partners. It is a family business with more than 30 years of experience and is a leader in sales and marketing in the CPG industry in Western Canada. Headquartered in Calgary with offices throughout Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and NWO.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Insights Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Circana (formerly IRI + NPD): Large consumer and retail intelligence company providing data, analytics, and advisory to CPG manufacturers and retailers. Overlaps with Insights Group's market analysis and performance reporting offerings.
- NielsenIQ: Global consumer intelligence and retail measurement firm serving CPG brands and retailers. Adjacent incumbent whose data and analytics offerings overlap with Insights Group's market audit and category analysis services.
- Advantage Solutions: Large publicly-traded North American sales and marketing agency with grocery, convenience, and food service coverage. A broader incumbent with overlapping broker functions and significantly larger scale.
Direct peers
- Crossmark: Sales and marketing services provider for CPG brands across grocery, drug, mass, and club channels in North America. Comparable in business model (dedicated sales force, merchandising, in-store execution) and customer base.
- Kaleidoscope Sales and Marketing: Canadian sales and marketing services firm focused on CPG brands in grocery, drug, and mass channels. A direct Canadian peer with similar coverage model and retailer relationships.
- Hatch Sales & Marketing: Canadian field marketing and sales agency focused on CPG and retail execution. Provides comparable in-store merchandising, sales, and promotional services.
- The Brokerage: Canadian sales and marketing services agency serving CPG brands across major retail banners. Operates with similar dedicated sales force and merchandising model across Canada.
- National Brokerage Network: Canadian CPG sales broker covering grocery, drug, mass, convenience and foodservice channels. Similar brokerage model with multi-channel Canadian retail reach.
- Acosta: North American CPG sales and marketing agency that represents brands in grocery, mass, and drug channels. Directly comparable as a third-party sales broker serving the same CPG brand and retailer universe.
Emerging players
- Stackline: Tech-enabled retail analytics and e-commerce intelligence platform for CPG brands. An emerging player whose data and digital shelf capabilities could eventually compete with traditional broker services.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Insights Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Insights Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
The Insights Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Insights Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Insights Group
What does The Insights Group do?
The Insights Group provides comprehensive sales and marketing services to consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands seeking distribution and retail presence across Canada. Through its two partner companies, Van de Water-Raymond (Eastern Canada) and Impact Sales & Marketing (Western Canada), it delivers dedicated field sales force deployment, in-store merchandising, promotional activities, trade fair participation, strategic distribution planning, market and competition audits, and e-commerce support. It also offers a Buy and Sell/Importation service that provides turnkey solutions for foreign brands entering the Canadian market.
Is The Insights Group a public or private company?
The Insights Group is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was The Insights Group founded?
The Insights Group was founded in 2013. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is The Insights Group based?
The Insights Group is headquartered in Laval, Canada, in the North America region.
How does The Insights Group make money?
One revenue line is on record: sales and Marketing Services.
Who are The Insights Group's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Circana (formerly IRI + NPD), NielsenIQ and Advantage Solutions. Direct peers are Crossmark, Kaleidoscope Sales and Marketing, Hatch Sales & Marketing, The Brokerage, National Brokerage Network and Acosta. Stackline is listed as an emerging player.
Does The Insights Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Insights Group.