Arhea

What Arhea does

Arhea (Arhea Solutio d.o.o.) is a Slovenia-based B2B market research and consulting firm founded in 2007 by former co-owners of GfK Slovenia. The firm delivers custom market research, customer experience research, brand tracking, and service standards design for enterprise clients, public-sector bodies, and high-growth SMEs. Its core product platform is the Internal Research Panel — a managed capability for setting up and running proprietary client customer panels — in which Arhea positions itself as the pioneer and sole specialist in Slovenia, with flagship deployments at Petrol (since 2018) and IAB Slovenija's digital marketing panel (since 2021). Supporting offerings include ADA (Contact Intelligence), Diagnostic Workshops, B2B Online Panels, project and idea evaluation for investment funds, and the ARHEA.mentor industry newsletter (500+ subscribers).

Arhea operates through a multidisciplinary core team of seven researchers supplemented by a network of approximately 101 external consultants and domain specialists, drawing on three generations of expertise. The firm combines traditional research methods (surveys, interviews, focus groups, mystery shopping via the acquired Temidia subsidiary) with modern techniques (customer journey mapping, agile insights, omnichannel data collection, and AI-assisted questionnaire design and analysis). Its service standards design methodology — a three-phase research/design/implementation process co-developed with subsidiary Temidia — is offered in tiered packages and forms a differentiated intangible asset in the Slovenian market.

The business model is project-based professional services plus managed panel operations, with quote-based pricing and multi-year service contracts disclosed for service standards engagements. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales supported by content-driven demand generation (newsletter, blog, conferences, LinkedIn), and distribution is exclusively direct — no reseller, marketplace, or self-serve channels. Marquee clients include Petrol, Fraport Slovenija, Spar, Generali, NLB, Toyota Slovenija, IAB Slovenija, and the Slovene Tourist Board, supporting a stated customer base of 100+ across 10+ markets. AI use is described as workflow-augmentation rather than a productized capability. The firm is privately held with no disclosed external funding.

Name

Arhea

Legal name

Arhea Solutio d.o.o.

Website

https://arhea.si

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Arhea is a Slovenia-based B2B market research and consulting firm founded in 2007 that delivers custom research, customer experience studies, internal research panels, and service standards design for enterprise, public-sector, and SME clients, pioneering internal panel development in the Slovenian market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ljubljana

HQ country

Slovenia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Market Research Projects: Arhea conducts bespoke market research projects for B2B and B2C clients across various industries. Projects include market analysis, customer surveys, strategic analysis, and business development research. Pricing is customized based on project scope and complexity.
2. Diagnostic and Advisory Workshops: Structured diagnostic workshops for SMEs and enterprises to define business problems, map customer journeys, and develop action plans. These are typically short-duration engagements with defined deliverables.
3. Internal Research Panel Services: Setup and management of internal research panels for client companies, including panel recruitment, GDPR compliance, software selection, and ongoing panel research execution.
4. Service Standards Design Projects: Design of service standards for client companies, including mystery shopping, customer experience research, employee training, and implementation monitoring. Offered in tiered packages: status assessment, status + design, and comprehensive approach.
5. Project and Idea Evaluation: Evaluation of the success of supported projects and ideas for public and private funds investing in business ventures, including ecosystem analysis, stakeholder surveys, and performance assessment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arhea provides bespoke market research and business consulting services to enterprise and mid-market clients across Slovenia. Core offerings include custom market research (surveys, interviews, focus groups, customer journey mapping, NPS tracking), Internal Research Panels for ongoing first-party data collection, Service Standards Design (in partnership with Temidia), Diagnostic Workshops for SMEs, ADA Contact Intelligence, and performance evaluation of publicly-funded projects. The firm specializes in retail, finance, tourism, B2B technology, and sustainability verticals.

Product overview

Arhea offers a portfolio of market research and customer intelligence solutions, centered on the Internal Research Panel as a core platform for continuous customer engagement. Key products include ADA – Contact Intelligence for customer insights, Service Standards Design for service quality optimization, and Diagnostic Workshops for business problem definition. The company provides bespoke research with sales impact for B2B and B2C companies, complemented by specialized offerings in customer journey mapping, NPS tracking, and B2B panel research. Founded in 2007 by former GfK Slovenia co-owners, Arhea combines traditional research expertise with modern approaches including AI-assisted analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ADA – Contact Intelligence: Contact intelligence solution offered as part of Arhea's service portfolio
• ARHEA.mentor

Products and services

• Market Research (Tržne raziskave) Customized market research and analysis for B2B and B2C clients, including customer journey mapping, customer satisfaction (NPS) measurement, and market opportunity identification. Designed to produce bottom-line sales impact for Slovenian enterprises.
• Internal Research Panel (Interni raziskovalni panel) A platform enabling companies to build their own research ecosystem and first-party data source by recruiting customers as panelists for ongoing surveys and research. Includes panel recruitment, GDPR compliance, software selection, and ongoing panel research execution.
• ADA – Contact Intelligence Contact intelligence solution for understanding and managing customer contacts and relationships, offered as part of Arhea's service portfolio.
• Service Standards Design (Standardi storitve) Design and implementation of service standards to meet customer expectations, increase loyalty and sales, and differentiate from competition. Delivered in three tiers: status assessment, status + design, and comprehensive approach including employee training and implementation monitoring.
• Diagnostic Workshop for Companies (Diagnostična delavnica za podjetja) A structured internal workshop approach to define business problems and objectives for fast-growing SMEs, combining internal data review with external perspective and market analysis. Delivered as a short-duration engagement with defined deliverables.
• Performance Evaluation of Supported Projects and Ideas (Ocena uspešnosti podprtih projektov in idej) Evaluation of the success of supported projects and ideas for public and private funds investing in business ventures, including ecosystem analysis, stakeholder surveys, and performance assessment.
• B2B Online Panels (Spletni paneli B2B) Research panels for conducting studies with industry experts, professionals, entrepreneurs, managers, or stakeholders to generate B2B market insights.
• ARHEA.mentor Newsletter Monthly professional newsletter distributed to over 500 marketing professionals, salespeople, decision-makers, and researchers, delivering case studies, market trends, AI applications in research, and industry knowledge.

Quantifiable outcome

• Arhea has maintained continuous partnerships with major Slovenian companies for over 15 years (e.g., Petrol since 2007)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IAB SlovenijacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Arhea co-designed and launched the first professional digital marketing panel in Slovenia under the IAB Slovenija umbrella in 2021. This panel serves as a digital marketing community and research platform for regular industry surveys. Arhea designed and executes research within this panel, contributing methodological expertise while IAB provides industry network and credibility.
• Fraport SlovenijacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Fraport Slovenija has partnered with Arhea since 2019 for a long-term research plan including on-site airport passenger experience research. Together they developed a methodology to track passengers' experiences at the airport, enabling genuine understanding of passengers and establishing regular monitoring of demographics and satisfaction levels.
• PetrolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Arhea has partnered with Petrol since the company's founding in 2007 (and Geni Arh individually since 1992). Together they established the first internal research panel in Slovenia at Petrol (2018), conduct annual brand strength measurements since 2015, and have developed a comprehensive market research system at all levels. The partnership has expanded to include market research and internal collaboration on customer satisfaction.
• TemidiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArhea collaborates with Temidia, specialists in mystery shopping and service standards design. Temidia provides mystery shopping expertise and service standards evaluation, while Arhea contributes customer understanding, market insights, and trend expertise. The partnership combines research knowledge with mystery shopping execution for comprehensive service standards projects. Joint service packages are offered with tiered pricing.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Toluna: Global technology-led consumer research and panel provider offering automated survey programming and panel-based insights; overlaps with Arhea in panel methodology but competes via self-serve technology rather than bespoke consulting.
• QuestionPro: DIY survey, panel, and research software platform used by enterprises to run VoC, customer experience, and market research in-house; represents the technology-enabled competitive alternative to Arhea's bespoke methodology-based offerings.

Direct peers

• Mediana: Slovenian market research agency providing custom research, panel management, and analytics for B2B and B2C clients — closely overlaps with Arhea in geography, methodology, and enterprise client base.
• Valicon: Slovenia- and Austria-based marketing research and consulting firm offering market research, customer experience, and analytics services to enterprise clients — directly comparable in geography, service mix, and target customer profile to Arhea.
• Ninamedia: Slovenian media and market research company offering consumer research, media monitoring, and analytics — comparable regional competitor serving Slovenian enterprise clients with overlapping research methodologies.
• Norstat: European data collection and panel specialist operating across multiple European markets; comparable to Arhea's panel management and B2B online panel offerings with broader geographic reach.

Regional players

• Ceneje.si: Slovenian price comparison and consumer research platform providing market data and shopper insights to Slovenian retailers and brands — partial overlap with Arhea's retail and e-commerce research segment.
• Parship / Marketagent: Austrian/DACH online panel and consumer research specialist; comparable in panel-based research methodology and B2B/consumer insight offerings, primarily serving DACH rather than Slovenian clients.

Broad incumbents

• GfK (NielsenIQ): Global consumer research firm; Arhea was founded by former co-owners of GfK Slovenia. GfK/NielsenIQ competes in the same enterprise market research space with much broader geographic and methodological reach.
• Ipsos: Global market research and consulting firm with operations across CEE; competes with Arhea for enterprise research mandates and offers overlapping capabilities (brand tracking, customer experience, panels) at a global scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arhea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Arhea