What International Consumer Research & Testing Ltd does

International Consumer Research & Testing Ltd (ICRT) is a UK-registered, member-owned non-profit consortium founded in 1990 that coordinates joint product testing and consumer research across national consumer organisations. It operates as two entities—ICRT Ltd in London and a fully-owned German subsidiary (ICRT GmbH, Ratingen, HRB 96952)—with a 12-person staff and a Danish branch. ICRT does not sell to end consumers; rather, it provides the standardised test procedures, IT tools, laboratory relationships, and editorial frameworks that enable 30+ member organisations in 34 countries to publish independent comparative product assessments, collectively reaching 25M+ consumers monthly through member publications.

ICRT's core products are coordinated joint testing programs (60+ large continuous tests and 115+ smaller one-off tests annually), a survey and services methodology exchange, and selective participation in EU-funded research projects (CLEAR-HP, CLEAR-X, PROMPT, Green NCAP). Underlying technology consists of common test procedures, reporting templates, and a member portal (Project Link), with execution outsourced to approximately 50 specialised independent laboratories worldwide. Testing spans domestic appliances, mobility, electronics, personal care, DIY, energy, food, child products, and sustainability. The organisation was a founding member of Euro NCAP in 1996 and has helped establish Green NCAP, Latin NCAP, and Global NCAP.

ICRT's revenue model is funded exclusively through annual membership fees from member organisations, with five membership tiers (A Shareholders, B Shareholders, C Shareholders, Candidate, Affiliate). The organisation explicitly refuses corporate donations, samples, and advertising to preserve independence from product manufacturers, and fee structures are not publicly disclosed. Members save 30–99% on testing costs compared with isolated testing, and the largest members (Which?, Stiftung Warentest, Consumentenbond, Test-Achats, Consumer Reports) effectively anchor the consortium. Go-to-market is community-led: new members are onboarded through introductory meetings, formal application, board approval, and training, with referrals driven through the existing member network and partner organisations (BEUC, ANEC, Consumers International).

Name

International Consumer Research & Testing Ltd

Legal name

International Consumer Research and Testing Limited

Website

https://international-testing.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ICRT is a UK-registered non-profit consortium founded in 1990 that coordinates joint consumer product testing across 30+ member organisations in 34 countries, using standardised procedures and 50 independent laboratories to publish independent comparative test results reaching 25M+ consumers monthly.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Product Testing Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Conformity Assessment, Testing, Inspection & Certification Cooperation (BPADANAD)

Keywords

• Consumer product testing
• Joint testing programs
• Comparative product testing
• Consumer research consortium
• Nonprofit testing services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual Membership Fees: ICRT is funded through annual membership fees paid by member organisations. The organisation refuses all corporate donations, including samples and advertising, maintaining complete independence from product manufacturers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ICRT coordinates joint consumer product testing programs on behalf of its 30+ member consumer organisations across 34 countries, running more than 60 large continuous joint tests and around 115 smaller one-off joint tests each year through approximately 50 specialist independent laboratories. It provides the framework, guidelines, and IT tools that enable members to share testing methodologies and costs across sectors including domestic appliances, cars and mobility, electronics, personal care, gardening and DIY, energy, leisure, and child products. The organisation also facilitates a survey and services network covering product reliability, consumer behaviour, sustainability, food and health, and selectively participates in EU-funded research projects such as CLEAR-HP, CLEAR-X, PROMPT, and Green NCAP.

Product overview

ICRT is a global consortium of consumer organisations that provides a unified platform for joint consumer product research and testing. The core offering consists of coordinated joint testing programs (60+ continuous tests and 115+ one-off tests annually), facilitated surveys and services networks, and selectively participating in funded research projects such as CLEAR-HP, CLEAR-X, PROMPT, and Green NCAP. ICRT provides the framework, tools, and guidelines that enable member consumer organisations worldwide to share testing costs, access specialised independent laboratories, and publish high-quality comparative test results for consumers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Joint Consumer Product Testing Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• Members achieve 30-99% cost savings compared to conducting tests independently
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered key partner.

• ANECkey partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995ANEC is the European consumer voice in standardisation, defending collective consumer interests in technical standardisation, conformity assessment, accreditation, and market surveillance, as well as related legislation and public policies. Established in 1995 as an international non-profit association open to national consumer organisations in 34 countries. ANEC is funded by the European Union and EFTA.
• BEUCkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerBEUC is the umbrella group for 40+ independent consumer organisations from 30+ countries, representing them to EU institutions and defending European consumer interests. Work covers competition, consumer rights, digital rights, energy, redress and enforcement, financial services, food, health, safety, sustainability and trade policy. ICRT coordinates EU-funded research projects (CLEAR-HP, CLEAR-X) with BEUC as consortium leader.
• Consumers Internationalkey partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsumers International is a membership organisation for consumer groups around the world, bringing together over 200 member organisations in more than 100 countries. They empower and champion consumer rights globally and serve as the voice of consumers in international policy-making forums.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Which?: UK consumer organisation and ICRT board chair (Anabel Hoult). Conducts independent product testing and reviews for UK consumers; directly comparable mission, governance ties to ICRT.
• Consumentenbond: Dutch consumer organisation and ICRT board member. Tests products and publishes comparative results for Dutch consumers, participating extensively in ICRT joint programmes.
• Test-Achats / Test Achats: Belgian consumer organisation, ICRT board member and shareholder. Provides independent product testing to Belgian consumers; coordinates with Test-Achats sister organisations across Europe via Euroconsumers.
• Consumer Reports: US-based independent consumer testing organisation, ICRT board member and shareholder. Conducts product testing and publishes comparative reviews for millions of US subscribers; the most direct US analogue of ICRT's member organisations.
• Stiftung Warentest: German consumer testing organisation and ICRT shareholder. Conducts independent comparative product testing for German consumers, operates in-house labs, and participates in ICRT joint tests — directly comparable activity and member of the same network.

Others

• Consumers International: Global membership body for 200+ consumer groups in 100+ countries. ICRT strategic partner; represents the global consumer-rights umbrella while ICRT focuses on the testing/research layer.
• BEUC: European Consumer Organisation, umbrella for 40+ independent consumer organisations. Strategic partner of ICRT and consortium leader on EU research projects (CLEAR-HP, CLEAR-X); not a tester itself but directly coupled to ICRT's policy and funding work.

Broad incumbents

• Underwriters Laboratories (UL): Global safety science organisation conducting product safety testing and certification across consumer-relevant categories (electronics, appliances). Comparable testing activity but commercial, manufacturer-funded model rather than consumer-organisation consortium.
• Intertek: Global Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) major. Operates for-profit commercial labs across consumer product categories that overlap with ICRT's scope, but is paid by manufacturers and lacks ICRT's consumer-organisation independence.

Emerging players

• Euro NCAP: Vehicle safety assessment programme that ICRT co-founded in 1995/96. Focused on crash-test scoring for new cars; narrower in scope (auto only) but directly comparable in being a coordinated, independent safety testing programme with public-facing results.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-consumer-research-&-testing-ltd

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 International Consumer Research & Testing Ltd