The Insights Group

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

Headquarters

HQ city

Laval

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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.

Named customers23 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Van de Water-RaymondcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 September 2013Van 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 & MarketingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 September 2013Impact 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

Broad 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

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 The Insights Group