TrendsActive

What TrendsActive does

TrendsActive is a privately held, founder-owned trend consultancy headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands, founded in 2003 by Kees Elands. The firm serves global enterprise brands across consumer goods, financial services, telecommunications, insurance, energy, technology, and media, helping them interpret sociocultural change and translate it into brand strategy, innovation programs, segmentation, and organizational development. Named clients include Disney, The Coca-Cola Company, ASICS, Vodafone, ING, IKEA, Microsoft, Samsung, and Tetra Pak, among more than 25 disclosed logos.

The company's core intellectual property is the Human Context Circle™, a proprietary framework synthesizing insights from sociology, psychology, and market research into actionable business strategy. This is operationalized through the TrendModel, which organizes two decades of accumulated research into three categories (societal, generational, and gender trends), encompassing 10 sociocultural trends, 30 trend insights, and over 90 ready-to-apply strategies. TrendsActive complements consulting with a bi-weekly Signals newsletter and blog, a webinar series, gated research reports, and an executive master program partnership with the University of Utrecht initiated by the founder.

TrendsActive generates revenue through professional services, with project-based and retainer engagements negotiated individually with enterprise clients. The firm operates with a small team of approximately 7 employees, including the founder, a partner, consultants, a researcher, and a Head of Inspiration. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales via direct engagement, supported by content marketing, webinars, and gated reports that serve as lead-generation assets. The company is bootstrapped, with no external funding, no public listing, and no disclosed acquisitions.

Name

TrendsActive

Legal name

TrendsActive

Website

https://trendsactive.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

TrendsActive is a Utrecht-based trend consultancy, founded in 2003, that helps global enterprise brands across consumer goods, finance, telecom, and technology interpret sociocultural change through its proprietary Human Context Circle™ and TrendModel frameworks, delivered via project-based consulting and content services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brand Consulting Services

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Rebrand & Brand Refresh Programs (MPAAAEAJ)

Keywords

• Trend consulting
• Sociocultural research
• Brand strategy consulting
• Human-centric strategy
• Consumer insights advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: TrendsActive provides strategic consulting services to organizations seeking to understand sociocultural trends and human-centric approaches to brand strategy, innovation, marketing, and organizational development. Engagement models likely include project-based work and retainer arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

TrendsActive is a trend consultancy that helps global brands become more human-centric through its proprietary Human Context Circle™ framework. The firm delivers strategic consulting engagements covering brand positioning, consumer segmentation, innovation programs, leadership development, and CSR strategy, supported by a TrendModel that distills two decades of sociocultural research into 10 trends, 30 insights, and 90+ ready-to-apply strategies.

Product overview

TrendsActive is a trend consultancy that operates primarily as a service-based consultancy rather than a software product company. The core offering is the Human Context Circle™ methodology, which is supported by the TrendModel—a comprehensive framework identifying sociocultural trends across societal, generational, and gender categories. The company delivers value through consulting engagements, educational webinars, a bi-weekly Signals newsletter/blog, downloadable research reports, and an executive education partnership with the University of Utrecht. The portfolio functions as an integrated suite where trend research informs consulting work, which generates case studies shared via Signals, while webinars and reports serve as both lead generation and standalone service offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trend Consulting Services Strategic consultancy engagements helping global brands develop positioning, consumer-centric segmentation, innovation strategies, leadership development, and brand transformation initiatives. Engagements are project-based or retainer arrangements negotiated directly with enterprise clients.
• TrendModel A research-based model identifying three main sociocultural trend categories (societal, generational, and gender trends) with 10 sociocultural trends, 30 key trend insights, and 90+ ready-to-apply strategies for brands. Captures two decades of accumulated sociocultural research into a structured framework.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% increase in response rate for customer communication when applying TrendsActive principles

Named customers31 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

Integration3 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ReD Associates: Sociocultural strategy consultancy advising global brands on innovation and human-centered strategy. Very similar methodology combining anthropology, sociology, and strategy; comparable client mix.
• The Future Laboratory: London-based foresight and trend consultancy serving global brands across consumer, retail, and luxury. Comparable in size, methodology, and enterprise client base to TrendsActive.
• WGSN: Global trend forecasting service for fashion, consumer, and lifestyle trends. Most directly comparable peer — also monetizes proprietary trend research and consulting, but at much larger scale and with broader industry coverage.
• TrendWatching: Trend intelligence consultancy producing consumer trend reports and advisory for brands. Closely comparable in offering: curated sociocultural trend research sold to enterprise clients for brand and innovation strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Frog Design (Capgemini Invent): Global design and innovation consultancy focused on human-centered design, brand, and product innovation. Overlaps in human-centric methodology and brand strategy, but with broader design and product capabilities.
• Wolff Olins: Global brand and design consultancy serving enterprise clients on brand strategy, identity, and experience. Comparable in brand strategy positioning work but with broader design and implementation capability.
• Mintel: Global market research firm publishing consumer trend reports and category intelligence across industries. Comparable trend research product but broader and subscription-led.
• Kantar: Global market research and consumer insight giant offering trend, brand, and media research. Overlaps in consumer trend research and brand strategy but operates at vastly larger scale across many services.
• Interbrand: Global brand consultancy offering brand strategy, naming, and design. Overlaps in brand positioning work for enterprise clients but offers creative and design execution services as well.
• Added Value (Bain & Company): Brand strategy and consumer insights consultancy, now part of Bain. Comparable in brand positioning, consumer insight, and trend work for FMCG and consumer clients; operates within a much larger parent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trendsactive

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 TrendsActive