Consumer Insights and Category Intelligence
RemCal Insights is a full-service, higher value insights agency, delivering you cost effective customer and category intelligence in an average of 2-3 weeks. The depth of the insights is never sacrificed, so you can walk away feeling more informed and validated about your business decisions.
Call us when you want to:
- Understand consumer preferences as input into modeling the transaction
- Unveil growth potential through a deep dive of consumers' perception of brand and competitive space
- Give key stakeholders a deeper understanding of a category and consumer type
- Interview vetted subject matter experts to help forecast trends
- Surface inputs for quantitative research
- Survey development and inputs for market sizing
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Helping a global coffee brand be more sustainable
RemCal Insights’ research has helped a client to embrace opportunities in sustainable consumption and successfully launch a creative campaign.
- Project Context
A design agency was tasked with developing a creative campaign for a coffee brand’s new compostable K-cup. As part of the design agency’s creative process, they brought in RemCal Insights to evaluate the idea with consumers, to ensure they get the creative idea right from the beginning.
Traditionally brands or creative agencies will bring in consumer insights strategists at the end of their creative ideation. What happens if you’ve spent all this time and money on creating an advertising idea and consumers hate it? Some agencies decide to make it work, but others realize they should have started with the consumer in mind, from the very beginning.
- Solution
RemCal Insights recruited and interviewed a panel of 10 consumers to join us on the creative journey to help this brand authentically talk about its new compostable coffee pods. The interviews were 1:1, to avoid ‘group think’ and around 45 mins – 1 hour. Each round of insights would feed into the optimizations which the consumers would see 1-2 weeks later.
- Value Added
The end result was a series of creative executions / advertisements that not only excited the consumer about the brand [a brand that has been around forever], but also educated them about the importance of composting.
The beauty of doing work this way is that your end product is going to be closer to perfect than if the creative agency or brand had just developed it on their own. By getting a consumer gut check along the way, you’re ensuring campaign/product success. This is also a great way to drive consumer loyalty or to bring lapsed consumers back to the brand.

Social media immersion for investment decisions
Some of our clients in the investment sector turn to RemCal Insights to assist with the pre-due diligence process and assess investment opportunities under tight deadlines. Usually, we suggest doing the social media listening projects when a client doesn’t have the resources to launch full-scale consumer research at the moment, or just wants to explore the landscape before diving deeper into qualitative or quantitative research.
- Project Context
A leading private equity firm was conducting preliminary due diligence on an athleisure apparel company. The brand has seen tremendous growth in the last couple of years, and the client wanted to understand the overall sentiment of the brand and product quality. As a first stage in the due diligence process, RemCal Insights assessed how the brand is perceived by consumers and influencers across social media, if there are any red flags, and what the real opportunity areas are.
- Solution
To approach this project, RemCal Insights did a ‘social media immersion’ and reviewed more than 100 accounts on different social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The target accounts for evaluation were chosen according to their influencer category. The posts were evaluated across key elements: social media platform, number of followers, audience quality and engagement rate, as well as consistency and type of posts.
- Value Added
Data collected from the social media accounts analysis helped determine the positive sentiment around the brand and revealed the main motivations for customers and influencers to stick with the company. In addition, the results of the research provided the client with an understanding of the ‘customer journey’: from the very first considerations of joining the company to communicating about the brand on social media. Social media immersion proved the investment potential of the brand for the PE client and served as a base for further due diligence.

A deeper due diligence on a wellness brand
Investors spend a lot of time evaluating a brand and its growth potential. Surveys are run, company data is evaluated, financial models are built, the list goes on… One thing that is often missed is the emotional check. Why are the numbers suggesting the brand is keyed up for success and does it have long-term potential? This is where a deeper due diligence is needed.
- Project Context
A Private Equity client came to RemCal Insights to understand the success story of a wellness brand and where are the opportunities for growth (if any). They wanted Rachel, Founder of RemCal Insights, to interview consumers and experts to understand perceptions of the brand and category, but also key trends to look out for.
- Solution
RemCal Insights recruited and interviewed 30 consumers, 8 experts via Zoom to evaluate the real strength of the brand and uncover opportunity areas down the pipeline. Through these 1:1 interviews Rachel saw the products consumers and experts were using and could get a real sense for their emotional relationship with the category and brands.
- Value Added
At the end of the project the key stakeholders had a clear vision of who this consumer is, their relationship with the category AND the brand. This research helped inform their decision to invest in the brand.

Due diligence for a makeup brand
Conducting a reputation check is an integral part of evaluating the investment opportunity. In certain situations, a high-growth brand that investors are considering might have undergone bad press. Here the question of bad press’ impact on consumers' perception of a brand arises. Is it still worth the investment opportunity? RemCal Insights helps assess the relationships between a brand and consumers to unveil if a brand can improve its public image. Here’s an example of a recent project:
- Project Context
A client saw an investment opportunity in a makeup brand. The brand had experienced a lot of growth in the last few years, but also some ‘bad publicity’. RemCal Insights conducted qualitative research to help the client understand if this growth is sustainable and how the ‘bad publicity’ had impacted consumers’ perception of the brand.
- Solution
In-depth, remote interviews were conducted with 16 current and lapsed consumers and 8 makeup artists across the US. These interviews allowed us to understand who the consumer is, their motivations to use the products, and the challenges they faced while using the brand. We also got to learn from the experts on what makeup trends are in, and their perceptions of the brand.
- Value added
Although the research showed that consumers’ perceptions of the brand weren’t greatly affected by bad publicity, it revealed other concerns. The research helped to identify the main drivers for consumers to purchase makeup products and found a mismatch between the brand and the needs of consumers and beauty professionals to a greater extent. In addition, consumer insights shed light on brand positioning that made the client decide not to invest in the brand.

New marketing strategy for a Canadian coffee brand
- Project Context
A Canadian fair trade coffee company wanted to reevaluate its marketing strategy. The end goal was to deliver a campaign that resonated with consumers and made them feel good about their choice in coffee. RemCal Insights was tasked with recruiting a panel of Canadian coffee drinkers to understand their relationship with coffee, what factors into their decision-making process to help inform the new campaign strategy.
- Solution
RemCal Insights recruited a consumer panel to take part in the iterative brand strategy process. The panelists were current consumers in the ‘fair trade’ coffee market as regular coffee drinkers [mass produced]. We conducted remote interviews to understand consumers’ relationship with coffee, factors that influence their decision-making process as well as had them evaluate potential marketing campaigns.
- Value Added
The insights helped inform how the brand should engage with their core consumers as well as potential ways to ‘buy in’ mass-produced coffee drinkers. The iterative research process allowed us to get the marketing ideas right from the beginning, which ultimately saved the brand time and money.

Global research for a health technology brand
RemCal Insights may have its headquarters in the US, but we study consumers around the world and develop global brand strategies with our creative partners. Here’s a recent case study for a health technology company.
- Project Context
A global health technology company is preparing for a new product launch in late 2023 and wanted to understand how to talk about the technology in a way that will motivate patients and nurses across the US, the UK, Italy and Japan.
- Solution
RemCal Insights recruited patients in the US, the UK, Italy and Japan to take part in remote interviews to evaluate the ideas. As a first stage, we started in the US to help the team decide which concepts were the most motivating. After a round of interviews, we were able to optimize the ideas to take into the international markets. We worked with our translators to optimize the ideas for each country and then conducted interviews to understand the key similarities and differences across the different markets.
- Value Added
Conducting research across multiple languages means phrases will not translate the same way or images will not resonate across all cultures. After interviews with nurses and patients in Italy, Japan and the UK we recognized the types of images that consumers [patients + nurses] find motivating, are not necessarily the same as they are in the US. We were able to provide recommendations on how to optimize the images and language in an effort to find a universal language for the brand.

Due diligence on a hair wellness brand
- Project Context
A global leading Private Equity firm saw an investment opportunity in a ‘hair wellness’ brand that delivers a holistic treatment plan for men and women concerned with hair loss/thinning. RemCal Insights was set to understand the consumer segments, key motivators for entering the brand, and brand perceptions against key competitors.
- Solution
In-depth, remote interviews were conducted to understand how consumers and experts perceive the value of the brand and opportunities in the hair wellness category. RemCal Insights recruited 24 consumers of mixed categories: current, lapsed, and potential users. Also, 4 experts such as dermatologists and hair stylists across the US were interviewed to explore the context for recommending the brand.
- Value added
This qualitative research allowed us to understand who the consumer is, their relationship with their hair, and triggers and barriers to the category. We identified not only functional motivators to purchase the product, but also less obvious emotional drivers. We also got to understand experts, what they’re seeing when it comes to hair loss/thinning and the products they recommend. These findings helped us evaluate the brand marketing strategy fit with consumers' needs and provide implications for improving brand loyalty.
Reviews
the project
Qualitative Research Project for Retail Grocer
"Nothing really that could have been improved or done differently, we've been pleased with the services from RemCal."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I'm a senior analyst on the customer insights team for a retail grocer.
For what projects/services did your company hire RemCal Insights?
We've partnered with RemCal Insights on several projects for qualitative research related to customer insights on topics such as loyalty programs, store designs, understanding general customer perceptions, and store-level customer research.
How did you select this vendor?
RemCal Insights was highly recommended to us by another vendor/partner we've used for several years as a company who could conduct our qualitative research projects. Our team met with Rachel online and were immediately drawn to her personable style and her knowledge & experience with qualitative research.
Based on that, along with her willingness to work within our budget, we selected RemCal Insights as one of our research / customer insights partners.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
Our projects with RemCal start with an email to Rachel to let her know our objectives and timing, followed up with an online meeting to discuss the details and objectives of the project. The services we partner with RemCal to provide include developing a recruitment screener, recruiting and scheduling participants, and creating a discussion guide that aligns with the objectives of the research.
They also served as moderator/facilitators of the focus groups / IDIs, assisting us with fulfilling the participant incentives, and providing us with video recordings of the groups/interviews and a full analysis and report of the insights, including recommendations. Rachel also provides us with helpful best practices to minimize any issues with the project.
What was the team composition?
I've worked very closely with Rachel from RemCal, and she has a network of participant panels to recruit from, when needed, and recruiting assistants. We love the very personalized service that Rachel provides!
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
The insights provided to us from our projects with RemCal have allowed us to make important decisions that we can feel confident will improve our customers' experience.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
RemCal provides excellent communication! Rachel is very responsive on email, and is always willing to jump on an online meeting when needed. We also exchange text messages with her during focus groups / IDIs if there are any questions that come up or if a participant's comment sparks an idea of something we'd like Rachel to go more in-depth on with the participant(s). We are very pleased with our communication and workflow with RemCal.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
Rachel's interview style makes customers feel comfortable opening up and sharing their genuine opinions vs. sharing what they may think we want to hear. She is gifted at getting to the objective(s) in a comfortable way with participants, getting every participant to offer their opinions and preferences, and to keep the group/interview moving along without cutting off a participant while speaking or making them feel rushed.
RemCal does a great job with the analysis of the customers' feedback and providing not only a summary, but actionable insights. I am also impressed with just how pleasant Rachel is to work with, and I always look forward to when we have a chance to work with RemCal Insights.
Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?
Nothing really that could have been improved or done differently, we've been pleased with the services from RemCal and enjoy working with Rachel on our projects!
the project
Market Research for Strategic & Creative Agency
"Very responsive and always delivers on time."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
I am the CEO, Strategic & Creative Agency of (a/an) Advertising & marketing
Describe what your company does in a single sentence.Full service strategic and creative agency specializing in health, wellness and beauty.
- Gain consumers insights.
Referral
Why did you select RemCal Insights over others?Referred to me
What was the size of RemCal Insights’s team?2-5 Employees
What was your primary form of communication with RemCal Insights?Virtual Meeting
Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.We work with RemCal to get learnings on marketing/communications strategies all the way through creative execution. Depending on the project and needs, for some brands/products we do a multi-step consumer engagement process starting with strategy then adcept then execution where for others it may be one or two of those learning steps.
- Improved creative measured by consumer feedback
Very responsive and always delivers on time.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?RemCal is very resourceful in finding even the most niche consumers from all over the world.
Are there any areas for improvement or something {provider_name} could have done differently?While learning re-caps are timely and helpful, there is an opportunity for them to be even a little more robust.
Thanks to RemCal Insights' work, the client was able to make important decisions that will improve customer experience. The team provided excellent communication, was responsive, and was always available when needed. The client was very pleased with the workflow and looks forward to a new project.