The Happiness Research Institute

What The Happiness Research Institute does

The Happiness Research Institute (HRI) is an independent think tank headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, founded and led by CEO Meik Wiking. The organization conducts research on subjective wellbeing and happiness, exploring why some societies are happier than others and producing evidence-based recommendations for policymakers, corporations, and healthcare organizations. Its core intellectual property is the Wellbeing Adjusted Life Years (WALY) metric, a scientifically-validated framework developed in collaboration with Leaps by Bayer that translates disparate impacts (disease, climate change, poverty, loneliness, and policy choices) into a single comparable unit measuring years of life lived in full wellbeing. WALY is operationalized through a freely available online calculator and reference library, supporting both academic research and enterprise decision-making.

HRI monetizes through a diversified portfolio: keynote presentations and speaking engagements delivered globally (from corporate boardrooms to European parliaments), sale of research publications and reports, book sales via Penguin Random House (with cumulative sales exceeding one million copies led by 'The Little Book of Hygge'), collaborative research partnerships and consulting engagements with enterprise clients (Leaps by Bayer, Jabra, Kingfisher plc, LEO Innovation Lab, Valcon), and government advisory work (notably with the Nordic Council of Ministers). Additional offerings include an online Happiness Course distributed through 42courses.com, the Mood Snapshot research app for app-based data collection, the physical Happiness Museum in Copenhagen, and the 10 Leaps Initiative framing major global challenges. Customer segments span private corporations, government and policy makers, conference organizers, and healthcare and life sciences organizations, with a hybrid go-to-market combining sales-led keynote bookings with project-based consulting and co-research arrangements.

Name

The Happiness Research Institute

Legal name

The Happiness Research Institute

Website

https://happinessresearchinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Happiness Research Institute is an independent Copenhagen-based think tank that researches subjective wellbeing and develops the proprietary WALY metric, serving policymakers, global corporations, and healthcare organizations through reports, keynotes, consulting partnerships, and bestselling books.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wellbeing Research & Consulting

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Workplace Wellness & Wellbeing Education (EDAAAHAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mental Wellness & Resilience Education (Non-clinical) (EDAAAHAK), Wellness Program Design & Accountability Coaching (HSADAGAC)

Keywords

• Happiness research
• Wellbeing consulting
• Subjective wellbeing
• Policy advisory
• Applied behavioral research

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

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. Keynotes and Presentations: Booking fees for keynote speeches and presentations at corporate events, policy summits, academic conferences, and community gatherings worldwide.
2. Research Publications and Reports: Sale of published reports and research findings to organizations and the public. Includes World Psoriasis Happiness Reports and sector-specific studies.
3. Book Sales: Sales of books by Meik Wiking including 'The Little Book of Hygge', 'The Art of Danish Living', and other happiness-focused publications. Books have sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
4. Research Partnerships and Consulting: Collaborative research projects with public and private organizations including Leaps by Bayer, Nordic Council of Ministers, and corporate partners to identify drivers of wellbeing and conduct data-driven analyses.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Happiness Research Institute is an independent think tank that conducts research on happiness and subjective wellbeing, advising governments, corporations, and organizations on the drivers of quality of life. It commercializes its findings through keynote presentations, commissioned research partnerships, and consulting (including Happiness Lab implementations), while also publishing reports, books, an online course, and operating a curated Happiness Museum in Copenhagen.

Product overview

The Happiness Research Institute operates as a research-focused organization offering a portfolio of interconnected products and services. The core offerings center on WALY (Wellbeing Adjusted Life Years), a proprietary metric that quantifies human wellbeing impact, delivered through the WALY Calculator online tool. The Institute publishes research reports and studies, and offers consulting services including Happiness Labs implementation. Educational offerings include The Happiness Course and published books by CEO Meik Wiking. The organization also operates The Happiness Museum in Copenhagen and provides expert presentation/keynote services. The 10 Leaps Initiative represents a research program exploring major global health and sustainability challenges. All offerings are grounded in subjective wellbeing research methodologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WALY Calculator A freely available online tool featuring a collection of Wellbeing Adjusted Life Years (WALY) values spanning impact areas related to disease, climate, social conditions, and more, enabling users to model and compare wellbeing scenarios.
• Research Publications

Quantifiable outcome

• WALY metric translates disease, climate, poverty, and policy impacts into single comparable unit
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Leaps by BayerflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to develop WALY (Wellbeing Adjusted Life Years) metric for measuring happiness return on investment (HROI). Joint development of measurement system for evaluating impact of treatments on well-being of populations. WALY can be used as universal KPI to compare which organization provides greatest return to humanity.
• ValconcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementation of Happiness Labs at Valcon in 2018, aiming to increase employee happiness. Continuous measuring and surveying of employees including management to determine key drivers of happiness and design interventions.
• Nordic Council of MinisterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch on relationship between social media use and well-being for young people. Analysis of independent study and PISA data to provide nuanced insights for policy-makers on social media impact.
• LEO Innovation LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExploring the effect of psoriasis on happiness and publishing World Psoriasis Happiness Reports since 2017. Analysis of data from nearly 80,000 psoriasis patients across 21 countries to improve lives of 125+ million people with psoriasis.
• Kingfisher plccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPan-European study to understand impact of homes on happiness and well-being. Surveys from more than 13,000 people and 70+ in-depth interviews across 10 European countries to identify major determinants of happiness at home.
• JabracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 'Work and wellbeing in the age of AI' study published in 2025. Survey of 3,700 knowledge workers across 11 countries exploring relationship between AI use and wellbeing.
• Leaps by BayercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeaps by Bayer Impact Report 2024 showcasing transformational change potential in their portfolio through WALY measurement system developed with Happiness Research Institute.
• Henning Larsen ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Happy Home project to raise awareness of drivers of happiness in homes and communities.
• Rambøll Management Consultancy & RambøllminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners on Happy Home project exploring what makes people happy about their homes.
• Jascha FondenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 'The neurodegenerative toll on happiness' study focusing on what truly matters to patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
• Sammen på Tværs (formerly Elderlearn)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternal evaluation of initiative in social and health care field examining how supporting linguistic and cultural skills impacts sosu's well-being, attachment and retention.
• Matter NeurosciencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research study exploring relationship between wellbeing, daily activities, and positive memories. Uses Mood Snapshot app and Matter Neuroscience app for data collection.
• Danica PensionminorOthersPartner logo displayed on HRI website as part of partner network.
• Penguin Random HousecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublisher of Meik Wiking's books including 'The Little Book of Hygge' (million-copy bestseller) and 'The Art of Danish Living'.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Limeade: Corporate wellbeing platform offering employee wellbeing measurement and engagement programs. Comparable at the workplace-wellbeing intervention layer where HRI's Happiness Labs and Valcon work sit, though Limeade is software-led and HRI is research-led.
• Headspace Health: Consumer and enterprise mental wellbeing platform with research arm publishing wellbeing studies. Comparable in workplace wellbeing and consumer-facing education, though much larger and venture-backed.

Direct peers

• New Economics Foundation: UK-based think tank focused on wellbeing economy, National Well-being Index (with ONS), and policy research. Comparable as a mission-driven research organization producing wellbeing indicators and consulting with government and enterprise.
• UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (World Happiness Report): Publishes the annual World Happiness Report — the most cited global happiness ranking. HRI advisor John Helliwell co-edits it. Directly comparable as a happiness research publication and policy-influence platform.
• What Works Wellbeing (Centre for Well-being, Oxford / LSE): UK research center synthesizing evidence on wellbeing interventions for policymakers and practitioners. Comparable as a wellbeing-research and evidence-synthesis body, with similar funding mix from government and foundations.

Broad incumbents

• Gallup (Wellbeing & World Poll): Gallup runs the World Poll and a major workplace wellbeing research practice, producing global wellbeing rankings and consulting for corporations and governments. Highly comparable to HRI's research-and-advisory model, but at much larger scale and broader scope.
• OECD Better Life Initiative: OECD's Better Life Index measures wellbeing across member countries and supports policy work on going beyond GDP. Closely comparable to HRI's policy advisory and wellbeing-measurement work, with substantially larger institutional backing.

Others

• Institute for Well-Being in Law: Specialized institute producing wellbeing research and resources for the legal profession. Thematically adjacent — comparable as a research-driven organization focused on wellbeing measurement and intervention in a specific sector.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institut-for-lykkeforskning
• Instagraminstagram.com/thehappinessmuseum
• Xx.com/Happi_Research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Happiness Research Institute