The Economist Intelligence Unit

Skip to main content
  • Consumer
    The EIU

    Our offering and about us

    EIU content

    Sample the content we provide on countries and industries

    Special reports

    Our free reports provide executives with practical business information on macroeconomic events, country affairs and issues affecting industries.

    EIU Store

    Buy immediate access to our forecasts, analysis and data

    Our analysts

    Meet our team of analysts

    Featured practices
    • Consumer
    • Public policy
    • Healthcare
    • China
    Featured products
    Market Explorer

    Introducing our unique online tool for global market scanning and forecasting

    IVD Gateway

    Precise data and insights from our comprehensive In Vitro Diagnotics (IVD) database

  • Introduction
    • Introduction
    • Current highlights
    • Who we help
    • Our thinking
    • Challenges
    • How we can help
    • Core capabilities
    • Featured product
    • Clients
    • Our approach
Log in/register Contact us
  • Introduction
  • Current highlights
  • Who we help
  • Our thinking
  • Challenges
  • How we can help
  • Core capabilities
  • Featured product
  • Clients
  • Our approach
Scroll to next section
The Economist Intelligence Unit Login / register
  • The EIU
  • EIU content
  • Special reports
  • EIU store
  • Our analysts
  • Featured practices
    Consumer Healthcare Public policy China
  • Featured products
    Market Explorer IVD Gateway
  • Contact us

Our consulting practice – EIU Canback – helps consumer-facing companies to enter new markets as well as deliver greater success in current markets.

We work globally, supporting senior management with strategic initiatives, M&A due diligence, demand forecasting and other issues of fundamental importance to their corporations.

Current highlights

The Chinese consumer in 2030

The Chinese economy is slowing and financial risks have mounted, but one bright spot remains - consumption. Our whitepaper The Chinese consumer in 2030 forecasts developments in the consumer market that will be vital for companies to understand in order to grasp hold of the many emerging opportunities.

Download the free report

Creating growth in a flat world

How to identify, quantify and capture new growth opportunities

What do we mean by growth in the context of corporate expansion? How can companies identify opportunities and why is it important to quantify these? What are the barriers to growth and how best to overcome these so that growth can be delivered? In particular, how can companies overcome the inertia that often stifles a good idea?

Find out more

Subscribe to EIU Consumer newsletter

Discover the latest trends and analysis for consumer-facing companies in our bi-monthly newsletter.

Subscribe

Who we help

We work globally across many consumer-facing sectors, supporting senior management on strategic initiatives, M&A due diligence, demand forecasting, and other issues of fundamental importance to their corporations.

Consumer
goods
Retail
Financial
services
Technology
&
telecoms

Our thinking

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s research helps consumer-facing companies prepare for future trends and keep on top of changes in the industry.

Articles

Triple-A Method: Addressable, Available, and Actual Market Size
Fundamental concept of J-curves
Understanding the craft beer revolution
The Future of FMCG: The Whole Foods Test
Price Premiums of Fortified Foods

White papers

Creating growth in a flat world
Corporate overseas expansion
Retail in China: As one store opens…
An outlook for key emerging Asian markets

Latest tweets

@SmarterRetail Good quote. I didn't expect a retail tweet to be given such a literary flavour!
23h
Target set to miss target https://t.co/iwXJcdTxVe
23h
Casino reports solid growth. Plans to offload its Brazilian Consumer Electronics unit shows continued consolidation https://t.co/NkyAFYKafQ
Jan 17
View all from @TheEIU_Consumer

Challenges

  • Finding new markets
  • Matching your performance to potential
  • Allocating resources and budgets

Quantifying opportunities within new markets in a fast-changing global economy is fraught with challenges. Finding data may be easy but ensuring that they are representative of what is actually happening in a market is more problematic. Using the wrong set of metrics can lead to flawed decision-making.

The Economist Intelligence Unit helps you to put a number on the market opportunity and to balance risk and reward in markets undergoing rapid change and with uncertain economic and political backdrops.

challenges: finding new markets

Even when established in a country or a city, companies need to be sure that they are performing optimally, given the opportunities that the market presents.

By combining your sales data with The Economist Intelligence Unit’s market size, demand and growth analysis, you can get a clear and reliable picture of how your organisation’s performance actually measures up.

Major decisions about how to allocate marketing budget or what recruitment investment is required in different parts of the world should not be based on historical performance or estimates from regional offices where vested interests often play a part.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s proven sizing and forecasting models underpin important budgeting choices, ensuring that spend is dependent on opportunity.

How we can help

We assist organisations at all stages in their market identification, analysis and entry processes.

Identify market opportunities

We are able to draw upon the knowledge of a large pool of country and industry experts, as well as proprietary economic and risk models, to help clients identify new markets and perform better in existing ones in a fast-changing world. Through our structured cross-market research and forward-looking data and analysis we help you to understand how changing economic conditions affect your business:

  • Which are my priority markets today and in the future?
  • How do I move into new markets?
  • What external factors will affect the markets I operate in today?
  • Which product categories will perform best over the next five years?

Contact us

Assess market potential

We help you to scan the globe to assess market potential both now and in the future. Our analysis helps you to build a consistent view across opaque and data-poor markets and to balance opportunities and risks.

Through our market segmentation models we identify and size your target markets at the national or city level, enabling you to prioritise opportunities in a cost effective way. We answer key questions, such as:

  • Where are new markets emerging for my services?
  • How should I prioritise growth markets?
  • What is the balance between opportunity and risk?
  • How will my markets be different in five years’ time?
  • Which cities will be the best match for my target demographic in the future?

Contact Us

Perform M&A due diligence

We have a special expertise in quick delivery of M&A; operational due diligence, working with up to 30 team members to evaluate acquisition opportunities from a market and functional perspective.

We combine:

  • Experience:
    - Independent decision making
    - Completed over 50 due diligence projects since 2009
  • Local research:
    - In-market research merged with local insight
    - International expertise, particularly in emerging markets
  • An M&A framework:
    - Standardised and highly efficient processes
    - Unique due diligence approach emphasising market potential
  • A quantitative approach:
    - Unique focus on demand modelling
    - Market sizing and forecasting using rigorous statistical models

Contact Us

Support market entry

Building a full view of new markets from all angles is crucial to support your strategy. Through a mix of primary and secondary research, in addition to tried and tested forecast models, we are able to drill down for a detailed view of a market and address questions, such as:

  • Will the market support the level of investment now and in ten years' time?
  • What share of the market can we achieve?
  • What competition will we face and what are the distribution channels?
  • Is the regulatory environment in the market conducive to my business?

We are able to call upon in-house expertise on trade, regulatory, risk and business environment issues to deliver a deep understanding of the competitive, business and regulatory environment before you enter a new market.

Contact Us

Monitor performance

Companies need to assess how their performance measures up to potential competitors and understand new opportunities and risks emerging in the markets in which they operate.

Through an unrivalled network of on-the-ground contributors and world-class economists and country experts we are able to offer monitoring services that provide our clients with an up-to-date and independent view of their markets.

Our customised demand and sales forecasting models, driven by our regularly updated analysis and combining internal and third-party data, enable companies to quantify how changing economic conditions affect their business.

We help companies with questions, such as:

  • How will my product categories perform in the next five years?
  • Which market segments (value, mid-range, premium) will perform most strongly?
  • How do I create “what-if” scenarios around problems such as pricing strategies?
  • What risks will affect my supply chain?

Contact Us

  • Identify market opportunities

    We leverage our world class skills to help companies scan the world for growth opportunities.

  • Assess market potential

    We scan the world to help you to identify and prioritise your markets.

  • Support market entry

    We help businesses to formulate their optimum strategy when entering a new market.

  • Perform M&A due diligence

    We offer a fast, fact-based and practical approach to support organisations with performing due diligence.

  • Monitor performance

    We provide ongoing support and analysis to help businesses build success in their markets.

Core capabilities

Our team of consultants, economists and regulatory specialists help consumer-facing companies develop data-driven solutions to understand how changing economic conditions affect their business. We are, like The Economist, resolutely global and independent in our approach.

  • Global analysis
  • Market segmentations
  • Market analysis
  • Predictive analytics
  • On-the-ground research

Global analysis


We track every market in the world through our forward-looking products and services providing:


  • Macroeconomic and political forecasting
  • Regulations and business environments assessments
  • Industry trends
  • Operational risk analysis

Market segmentations


We can size particular target markets using our proprietary demographic and income models by providing:


  • Standardised or custom income brackets
  • Market coverage at both national- and city- level
  • Long-range forecasts driven by and consistent with our core economic forecasts

Market analysis


We provide deep analysis on individual markets including:


  • Market entry plans
  • Go-to-market
  • Competitive intelligence
  • Distribution channels
  • Regulatory environment
  • Develop pricing strategies

Predictive analytics


Using the expertise of the teams to build our own in-house models we create custom models for our clients that:


  • Link forecasts to the key drivers of demand
  • Use techniques particularly appropriate to emerging markets such as S-curve analysis
  • Integrate clients’ output into existing in-house systems

On-the-ground research


We are able to draw on the knowledge of a large pool of country and industry experts, who walk the streets of the countries we’re assessing, to provide context. We also utilise our in-country networks to undertake detailed research including:


  • Our unique relationships with statistical offices around the world
  • Our wide access to official data sources and local government agencies
  • Our privileged access to industry players and executives

Featured product

Market Explorer

A unique online tool for global market scanning and forecasting. Immediately see which countries and cities offer the greatest opportunities for your products and services, now and in the future. With over 140 countries and 1000 cities at your fingertips.

View details

Clients

We are regularly commissioned by the world's leading consumer-facing corporations, helping them to understand their markets around the world.

  • FMCG – Beverage company
  • FMCG - China
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Construction
  • FMCG - Food
  • Luxury goods
  • Manufacturer
  • Export promotion agency
  • Financial services
  • Insurance
  • Healthcare
  • Logistics

FMCG – Beverage company

FMCG – Beverage company

A well-known global beverage company approached The EIU to better understand the potential size of the market for their product globally. We provided them with detailed consumption and income data for specific age groups in 60 countries.

As well as income levels, we also identified an appropriate consumer expenditure figure or “threshold” for consumers that were most likely to purchase their product. In addition, we were able to tell them where their flagship product was over- and under-performing in relation to market potential.

Our team created a mapping tool that the company’s marketing and finance teams could easily understand and use to determine market potential in 60 countries.

We also created a set of 60 country “fact sheets” with more qualitative analysis around each country’s demographics.

As its preferred research partner, The EIU continues to work with the company and to support its decisions about which markets they should be operating in.

go back Close

FMCG - China

FMCG - China

Our client already had a big presence within China but came to us to find out on a more granular level those cities and provinces that offered the best growth potential—now and over the next ten years.

Using an existing Economist Intelligence Unit subscription service, we built a model incorporating the client’s own product demand data to provide industry-specific growth forecasts at a provincial level.

We analysed demographic changes in the provinces and forecast future demand for the client's product at a regional level.

Using the province forecasts, we were able to compare data across the provinces and prefectures within China.

Using findings from the model, the client was able to justify a costly acquisition. As a result, the client now has the resources in place to make the most of future opportunities, helping to ensure that the company maintains its position as market leader.

go back Close

Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals

A leading pharmaceuticals company came to The EIU wanting to identify the tipping point at which different high-priced therapies became affordable in China.

The Economist Intelligence Unit prepared an original data set and forecasting model to pinpoint and forecast household wealth in China, by province and at a national level.

The data from the model were ultimately transferred into a user-friendly, dynamic and interactive Excel data management tool. This enabled the client to use the model for various types of treatments, and to experiment with insurance coverage and treatment cost assumptions.

The model allowed the client to determine more accurately the potential market size for various treatments from 2011 through to 2050. This ultimately improved the company's marketing and sales strategies in China, and improved target-setting and investment planning for the near and longer term.

go back Close

Construction

Construction

Our client is an international construction and engineering company that was looking to expand further in Asia.

Drawing upon our in-house knowledge and extensive database of the economic environment and government activity, we carried out an in-depth analysis of the construction market in selected countries. In particular, we looked at the potential for infrastructure development. Our analysis covered:

  • Legislation and regulation with respect to the operations of foreign construction players.
  • Financing for infrastructure, the competitive landscape, profiles of the top five players and key areas of construction activity.
  • Opportunities and challenges for new foreign market entrants.

As a result, our client was able to understand the business environment and risk profile of the selected countries and the dynamics of the construction sector. They were also able to analyse the extent of opportunity in these markets and identify specific challenges for foreign entrants. With our findings, our client developed the group’s market entry strategy in East Asia.

go back Close

FMCG - Food

FMCG - Food

A world-leading multinational food and beverage company wanted to know the size of the food service sector (catering and restaurants) to understand their global market share. Available data was sparse and not comparable across countries.

The food industry is complex, where raw produce can be supplied for export, for inputs into processing, for catering and for retail. The challenge was to understand this system of linkages across the industry and provide a framework for consistent comparison across 70 countries, accounting for around 95% of the industry. The EIU used a combination of national statistics and data from international organisations to produce a global map of the food service industry.

The research culminated in a global database of historical and current data on the overall size of the food sector, disaggregated by spending type (retail, catering, food service) for each country.

go back Close

Luxury goods

Luxury goods

Our client, a luxury jeweller and watch brand, evaluates its cities of location using a quantitative segmentation system that determines boutique type and entry/exit decisions. Available public sources only provided outdated figures. Our client required more recent and accurate GDP data for 25 cities in different countries. The end goal was an exact classification of cities according to growth potential and wealth.

Using our country experts and data sources to obtain the most up-to-date, accurate city data in each region. We were able to provide a more realistic picture of which cities were up-and-coming, which were transitioning from emerging markets to more established world capitals, and which were still a few years from maturity.

This comprehensive city-level database was presented to the client in an interactive Excel-based data book, which the company could segment based on its own preferences.

As a result, the client was better able to understand which cities had the best growth potential and wealth today, as well as those cities that would offer the most opportunity in the future.

go back Close

Manufacturer

Manufacturer

A major manufacturer of high-end furniture wanted to take advantage of their existing position to pursue aggressive growth and increase their presence in China. To help them, they asked us to forecast demand for high-end office furniture in Chinese cities.

Drawing upon our existing data on 287 Chinese cities, we identified relevant macroeconomic and demographic parameters. This enabled us to benchmark cities and propose a list of prefectures (cities) for analysis.

To capture the important policy factors and understand the development of growth verticals, we also used the expertise of our China analysts in “filtering” and determining the final selection of prefectures.

Using both quantitative and qualitative reasoning, we identified the cities of top strategic importance for the client for the next five years.

As a result, the client was able to understand the market potential for their products in key Chinese cities. This assessment helped them to refine their plans for further expansion in the country.

go back Close

Export promotion agency

Export promotion agency

An export promotion agency has been providing guidance on how its food and beverage companies can enter China’s major city-level markets for years. The agency wanted to understand how these companies could better access emerging second-tier Chinese cities with detailed information on local consumption habits, distribution and growth opportunities.

Drawing upon our expertise on Chinese cities and provinces, we ranked cities across each of the provinces by relevant macroeconomic indicators to identify cities of high potential. We then conducted extensive primary and secondary research to map out the existing distribution structure and main players for the key high-value food categories. We also identified and profiled key distributors.

The agency is now able to understand the distribution network and structure of major distributors, perceptions of food products, changing consumer preferences, and potential opportunities and obstacles that are currently facing their suppliers in exporting to second-tier cities in China.

go back Close

Financial services

Financial services

A leading provider of investment, banking and wealth advisory services was looking to encourage and lead debate on the growing economic influence of cities. It also wanted to identify cities with robust growth prospects.

We developed a unique index that benchmarked cities’ competitiveness in terms of their ability to attract capital, business, talent and visitors.

The benchmarking model studied 120 cities across the world, and assessed 31 distinct indicators for each city. We identified eight themes that influence a city’s attractiveness, and with our extensive in-country expertise, we studied 21 qualitative and ten quantitative indicators for each city.

We then developed an interactive, MS Excel-based model that allows users to analyse comparative features of cities, across regions and countries. We also wrote a briefing paper on issues relevant to the theme.

The client can now compare the relative attractiveness of cities across the world and identify cities with strong prospects for growth.

go back Close

Insurance

Government

Brazil has experienced significant growth over the past decade, leading to increased foreign investment and rising household income. At the same time, the complexity of local laws that aim to protect workers makes it risky for firms to operate across multiple sectors. With this in mind, our client, a global insurance company, wanted to understand potential for a type of employment insurance.

Information and studies on this part of the insurance market in Brazil were scarce. The client needed hard data across eight Brazilian states including information on the number of cases and the distribution of litigations across industries.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) conducted a study sizing the market and identifying opportunities for employment insurance in Brazil, with a special focus on small- and medium-size enterprises. In addition, the EIU also conducted interviews with key experts, including labour lawyers, industry associations, the federal Supreme Labour Court, Regional Labour Courts, and a labour district attorney.

The EIU delivered to the client an user-friendly database, a detailed report and a presentation to its global leadership team which supported their move into this market.

go back Close

Healthcare

Healthcare

Our client, a major player in the North American prescription benefits management market, came to us with a clear objective—to identify more clearly which countries it should explore for expansion opportunities.

We created a data dashboard and country ranking model—a tool for understanding the business climate in countries our client was considering.

A year later, our client came back to us having determined which countries from the dashboard and ranking model it was interested in researching further. We were commissioned to provide analysis of the key companies operating in this area as well as the legislation and regulatory background within these markets.

Our client received a clear understanding of which countries offer the greatest opportunity for growth and what the barriers to entry are in each of these markets. The company was made aware of the regulatory challenges and provided with a list of its main competitors. All this will be instrumental in informing the company’s sales, marketing and PR strategy when it enters the chosen market.

go back Close

Logistics

Logistics

Our client needed to understand the future of the logistics market within Vietnam and what impact the economic outlook for Vietnam would have on the company's business.

We interviewed competitors, industry leaders, academics, government and other relevant parties. Combining this with our industry forecasts, we offered analysis on the outlook for trade in Vietnam and how this would effect the client’s growth prospects.

We profiled our client’s customers and suppliers, including where they were located, to establish the logistic needs of the market. This enabled us to benchmark our client’s comparative strengths.

We analysed competitor market share to establish where opportunities lie, where the client could gain market share over competitors and what our client’s comparative strengths were.

Armed with a target list of new clients, this global freight and logistics company was able to make strategic decisions about where to invest and expand within Vietnam.

go back Close

Our approach

Subject expertise and tested methodology form the basis of The EIU’s trusted research.

  • A truly global footprint
  • A proven methodology
  • Our people
We work with our clients across the world from our 24 offices, and have engaged in projects in over 50 countries worldwide.

We are the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, the sister company to The Economist newspaper. Created in 1946, we have nearly 70 years' experience in helping businesses, financial firms and governments to understand how the world is changing and how that creates opportunities to be seized and risks to be managed.

The consumer practice incorporates EIU Canback the world's leading management consulting firm leveraging predictive analytics. Together, we help companies to draw reliable, fact-based conclusions about present and future opportunities based on sophisticated analyses of market, consumer, and internal company data.

We combine the best available data with the latest modelling techniques to provide an accurate and representative view of the state of play in each market, whether at the national or city level.

Our consultants walk the streets, and combined with our on-the-ground contributors, we gain access to all the data that is available, not just data on the web, to provide the most valuable insights. Through our modelling, we combine and standardise the data to enable international comparisons and help you look out across your markets and discover new opportunities.

The data and forecasts are fully consistent with our core political and economic forecasts and are reviewed and sense-checked by our experienced team of country analysts. We provide the data you can trust to support your business decisions.

Our team of country analysts come from all over the world and have a knowledge and passion for the countries and regions they are responsible for. We expect our analysts to speak the local language of the countries they cover.

The consumer practice also includes the team at Canback, a management consulting firm leveraging predictive analytics. Canback helps companies draw reliable, fact-based conclusions about present and future opportunities, based on sophisticated analyses of market, consumer, and internal company data.

We also have a strong team of econometricians with huge experience in working with complex data and forecasting models.

Our dedicated custom research team has delivered a substantial number of successful projects - working with senior personnel in some of the world's leading businesses.

Outstanding team of experts

130
full-time country specialists and economists
75%
have advanced degrees
24
offices around the globe
25
languages spoken

The EIU

  • About us
  • Media Directory
  • Careers

Products and services

  • EIU Store
  • EIU Consumer
  • EIU Healthcare
  • EIU Public policy
  • EIU China
  • Custom solutions
  • Economist Corporate Network
  • Licensing & permissions
  • Regulatory affairs
  • Speaker Services
  • Syndication

Help Centre

  • Contact us
  • Tutorials

Privacy

  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies
  • Terms of access

The Economist Group

  • The Economist
  • The Economist Events
  • EIU Perspectives
  • CQ Roll Call
  • EuroFinance
The Economist Group © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited. All rights reserved.
Twitter Facebook Linkedin
Prepare for opportunity The Economist Intelligence Unit