Capabilities
Our approach to insights, innovation and strategy is grounded in understanding not only what consumers say and do, but how they feel. These disciplines guide every project, no matter what challenge we’re solving together.
Practice areas
Insights
Understand how and why consumers think about, shop for and consume food through trusted research techniques
Trends & innovation
Capitalize on consumer demand by discovering where trends start and how they evolve
Strategy
Develop growth strategies rooted in long-term structural changes in the food landscape and drivers of demand
Products & services
Syndicated reports
These reports help you to see through the eyes of the consumer, offering insights into their thoughts, feelings and behaviors related to key issues. With unmatched qualitative and quantitative insights, our syndicated reports are designed to spark strategic thinking for food and beverage businesses — without the financial or time investments of larger-scale custom research.
We conduct at least four syndicated studies annually, plus many other data-rich publications throughout the year. This extensive library of trended data fuels everything we do, benefiting you no matter how we work together.
Subscription services
When you need quick answers to specific questions, there’s no time to waste on RFPs, team introductions and project ramp-up meetings.
With a Hartman Retainer Services partnership, our experts are ready to answer those spontaneous requests. We act as an extension of your team, meaning you have ongoing
access to a human account manager, our robust knowledge library with decades of intellectual capital and our proprietary occasions data.
Whether you’re looking for data mining, trend identification, innovation inspiration or strategic support, each package is tailored to
your unique needs and budget.
Custom research
As a small agency, we’re known for flexibility and ingenuity.
Our team helps some of the world’s largest food and beverage companies
bring consumer segments to life, develop trends frameworks, identify demand spaces and more.
But when time is short and you still need detailed analysis, we can pivot to leaner
solutions without sacrificing impact.
Every project is unique, and we’ll work with your goals and budget to get to the heart of your question with unbeatable clarity.
Tools & methodologies
By combining the wisdom of traditional ethnography, the nuance of advanced statistical analysis, and the flexibility of leading-edge technologies, we help you see the big picture.
Consumers’ lives are full of unarticulated motivations, changing behaviors and unmet needs. That’s why our approach to qualitative research is founded on empathy and engagement. With decades of experience, we don’t just step into the consumer’s world — we’re constantly immersed in it. This helps surface insights from real life, pointing to opportunities that are on-trend, differentiated and aligned with your goals.
- Consumer ethnography
- Retail/category immersion
- Expert and cultural informant engagement
Reliable data is the foundation of any solid strategy. We get to the root of your question by meticulously tracking shifts in consumer demographics, opinions, behaviors, shopping and usage patterns. And while many research firms use similar data collection methods, interpretation and application are where we shine. Thanks to deep industry and consumer knowledge, we can translate even the most overwhelming data sets into rich, yet easy-to-understand recommendations.
- Consumer segmentation studies
- Attitude and usage (A&U) studies
- Occasion-based surveys
Eating and drinking occasions are notoriously hard to track. Through powerful 24-hour recall methodology, our proprietary Compass Eating & Drinking Occasions Database has monitored American consumption patterns with unmatched accuracy since 2012. With details like daypart, location, social context, sourcing methods, need states, and specific items consumed on hundreds of thousands of occasions, we pinpoint disruptive ideas and white space opportunities for brands, retailers, foodservice providers and more.
- Occasion dashboards
- Food and beverage category deep dives
- Need state analysis