A toolbox, not a process
Most consultancies will sell you a framework. We help you solve your challenge.
Our three capabilities are tools we apply to your specific question, in whatever combination the work needs. Sometimes that is a single piece of category research. Sometimes it is a full programme from trend scan through to launch. We scope the work around the decision you are trying to make, not the other way around.
Food and drink is the only sector we serve. That focus is what makes the difference.
Food and drink is all we do
We are not generalists who happen to take food briefs. Our team has worked inside retailers, manufacturers, foodservice operators and primary suppliers. We know the categories, we know the consumers, we know the constraints, and we know where the margin lives. That focus is why we work with 11 of the UK’s top 40 food and drink brands.
It also means your project team is chosen to fit your specific brief – matched on relevant experience, sector knowledge and the commercial context your work sits in, so the work starts from the right place from day one.
How a project comes together
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We listen, challenge and shape what you actually need.
Tell us the decision you are trying to make. We will tell you straight whether research is the right answer, and what the right shape of project looks like.
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We put in what we think delivers the outcome
No padded proposals, no lifecycle theatre, no pulling in capabilities you do not need. Just the right tools for the job.
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We do the work.
The right people on your project from start to finish. Our own facilities where it matters. No black box, no unknown faces running the day-to-day.
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We hand you something actionable.
Recommendations you can act on tomorrow, framed for the people who actually have to make the decision.
Sectors We Work In
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Retail and own label -
FMCG and branded manufacturers -
Foodservice and QSR -
Fresh produce and primary suppliers -
Challenger brands and scale-ups
Work that earned its keep
Three projects that show how the capabilities come together on a real brief.
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Burger King
Burger King needed in-depth consumer testing of two new burger builds across multiple variants before launch. FIS Group delivered a real-store central location test with penalty analysis and innovation expert input, providing precise optimisation insight and benchmarks to inform future menu development.
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Domino's
Domino's needed a long-term research partner to support continuous product validation, supplier benchmarking and innovation pipeline development. FIS Group has delivered years of rigorous consumer testing and strategic insight, acting as an extension of the Domino's team across every stage of menu development.
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Mars
Mars needed a true research partner to decode consumer meal behaviour across three markets. FIS Group delivered a bespoke Meal Moments programme combining in-the-moment diary capture, qualitative exploration and strategic workshop facilitation – turning occasion-level data into immediate commercial direction.
FAQ
No. We are UK-headquartered with three locations (Bury St Edmunds, London and Birmingham), and we run projects across Europe, the US and the GCC and wider MENA region.
Yes. Most briefs start with one specific need. Some grow into two or three. We scope around the decision you are trying to make, so a single piece of research, a one-off product test or a standalone innovation programme is all completely normal.
Anything from two weeks for a focused product test through to twelve weeks or more for a full strategic insight programme. We will give you a realistic timeline at proposal stage and stick to it.
Yes. We have testing and meeting facilities at Bury St Edmunds, Mission Kitchen in London and Kings Heath in Birmingham. That means we can host taste tests, focus groups, workshops and client sessions in spaces designed for food and drink work.
Project-based, scoped around the brief. We will give you a clear quote with no hidden extras. Our prices reflect the experience of our team and the quality of our work – we are not the cheapest specialist in the market and we do not try to be. We are priced where the value lives.
We work primarily with established businesses and major brands across the food and drink industry, but we are always open to a conversation. We scope every project to match the size of the decision, and if a brief is not the right fit for us, we will say so honestly.
Fieldwork sits under a separate brand. FIS Group is the insight, innovation and product testing consultancy. The two work alongside each other where it makes sense, but they are distinct businesses with distinct teams.
Senior, named people from day one, all the way through to the final readout. No junior handover, no anonymous pool of researchers, no surprise team changes mid-project.
Got a brief? Let’s talk.
Tell us what you are working on. We will tell you straight whether we can help, what the right approach looks like, and how quickly we can move. No long discovery dance, no qualifying call before the qualifying call.