Canadian market research firm Ipsos Reid’s agribusiness, food and animal health division has announced plans to merge its practice with Forward Research, a U.S. firm in the same field of interest.
The combined company will be known in the U.S. as Ipsos Forward Research, the two firms said in a release Monday.
“For years we’ve competed against one another and now to combine the two customer-focused organizations into one is very exciting,” said Gary Bennewies, country manager for Ipsos in Canada. Ipsos Reid’s ag business is based in Guelph, Ont., and in Winnipeg.
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Forward, based in St. Louis, Mo., “will bring many valuable business insights to our agriculture and animal health clients across North America and around the globe,” Bennewies said.
“The agriculture and animal health industries are growing rapidly thanks to the increasing demand for biofuels, equipment and farm inputs, and greater consumer spending on pet care products.”
Ipsos Reid, the Canadian wing of the Paris research firm Ipsos, cited its research approaches such as the ability to quantify the relative influence of the veterinarian, the farmer and the marketing mix on uptake, and understanding the factors that influence loyalty — and non-loyalty — by product category.
Forward said its strengths are in product design and development, pricing, positioning studies, and advertising testing designed especially for the agricultural and animal health care industries.
