Your embedded intelligence function
Research, BI, and strategy on retainer. Built for consumer brands.
The brands winning shelf, share, and innovation aren't guessing.
THE STRATEGY SHARK INTELLIGENCE RETAINER
They have insights teams running consumer research, analyzing market data, and feeding the intelligence that drives every major decision, from product launches to retailer sell-in. Most growing brands don't have that function.They make expensive decisions without consumer validation. They walk into line reviews without data backing. They guess at innovation when they could know.
We are the intelligence function. Without the headcount.
The retainer is built for these moments.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
We want to understand our consumer, but think research is too expensive.We're have a market opportunity but don't have the data backing.We're launching a new initiative and aren't sure the market is ready.We've thought about hiring an insights lead, but can't justify the cost yet.Three tiers. Four-week cycles. No long-term contracts.
THE OFFERING
ESSENTIAL
$5,000
Per 4 WeeksCycle Intelligence Brief
1 research credit per cycle
1 insight deliverable per cycle
Data portal & AI insights
Always-on Slack + email
1 hour of working sessions
ADVANCED
$9,000
MOST POPULAR
Per 4 WeeksCycle Intelligence Brief
2 research credits per cycle
2 insight deliverables per cycle
Data portal & AI insights
Always-on Slack + email
2 hours of working sessions
ENTERPRISE
$12,000
Per 4 WeeksCycle Intelligence Brief
3 research credits per cycle
3 insight deliverables per cycle
Data portal & AI insights
Priority Slack + email
3 hours of working sessions
FOUR-WEEK CYCLES. NO LONG-TERM CONTRACTS.Make your data work for you.
THE PORTAL
One place. Every source. Insight-ready.
Your syndicated data, retailer portals, and internal data sit in different places, never synthesized, rarely accessible. The portal pulls it together, builds the dashboards, puts an AI analyst at your fingertips, and gives your team download-ready workbooks to take it further.
All Sources, One Place
Syndicated, retailer, and internal data ingested, cleaned, and maintained. One portal for all your numbers.Live Dashboards
Always-on dashboards scoped to your KPIs and category. Branded, current, ready when you are.Your AI Analyst
Ask questions in plain language. Get answers grounded in your numbers. The analyst that never sleeps.On Demand Workbooks
Pivot-ready Excel exports your team can slice, share, and analyze further. Everything one click away.WHY THE RETAINER
Always embedded. Built to scale with you.
The Cycle Intelligence Brief.
THE PROOF ARTIFACT
Every four weeks, every client. The artifact that proves the function is alive. Five sections, delivered every cycle, regardless of whether new research shipped that period.
HEADLINE
The single most important strategic insight for this cycle.WHYS
What changed, and why. Decomposition, and performance.CALLOUTS
Facts and figures that highlight KPIs and provide numerical value.CONSUMER
What consumer behavior we learned from studies or the marketplace.UP NEXT
What we're tracking, fielding, and watching next cycle..One simple system. Research credits and insight credits.
HOW CREDITS WORK
RESEARCH CREDITS
Studies include one sampling enhancement. Bigger studies cost more credits.Study Credits
Basic (≤10 Qs n=500) 1
Extended (≤20 Qs n=500) 2
Specialty (ex. concept tests) 4
Specialty+ (ex. Brand Health) 6 + fee
INSIGHT CREDITS
Studies include one sampling enhancement. Bigger studies cost more credits.Marketplace Brief
Line Review
Channel or Retail Analysis
Competitive Analysis
Ad-hoc Deep Dive (scoped)
Unused credits roll one cycle. Additional credits available at $2,000 each.-
Research Catalog
Standard studies are priced in credits. Specialty+ studies include a methodology fee in addition to credit cost. Each credit covers: n=500, ≤10 questions, 1 sampling enhancement (screener, quota, or demographic filter).
Study examples
Basic: n=500, ≤10 questions, 1 enhancement | 1 creditExamples: Consumer Pulse, Quick Claims Testing, Category Exploration
Extended: n=500, ≤20 questions, 1 enhancement | 2 credits
Examples: Whitespace, A/B Testing, Quant/Qual Combos
Specialty: parameters depend on study | 4 credits
Examples: Price Elasticity (proprietary), Concept Tests, Idea Screening
Specialty+: methodology depends on study | 6 credits + fee
Examples: Brand Health, A&U / Persona
Segmentation studies are scoped as separate engagements.
Research Add-Ons
For studies that need more sample, more screening, or advanced methods.
Pricing:
Sampling enhancements (screeners, quotas, demographic filters) | $1.50 / respondent
Advanced analytical methods (MaxDiff, Conjoint, Price Sensitivity) | $2.50 / respondent
Sample size beyond base | $2.50 / respondent
Insight Credit Scope
One credit per standard deliverable. Custom or expanded scope quoted at request.
Deliverables
Marketplace Brief: Single topic, agent-built synthesis, 3–5 pages.
Line Review: Single retailer, single category, standard framework.
Channel / Retail Analysis: Single retailer or channel, standard framework.
Competitive Analysis: Competitor deep-dive, standard framework.
Ad-hoc Deep Dive: Scoped Custom. Quoted in credits or dollars at request.
Credit Rollover & Overage
Unused research and insight credits roll forward one cycle. Maximum balance: 2 credits at Essential, 4 at Advanced, 6 at Enterprise.
Additional credits available at $2,000 each, applied to either research or insight work.
Data Sources
We analyze client-owned data. We do not provide data subscriptions. Clients are responsible for access to their own syndicated data sources (IRI/Circana, SPINS, Nielsen, Walmart Scintilla, Target VIQ, or other retailer-specific data). Advisory on data sourcing is available.
Commonly asked questions
FAQs
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The portal is your data and intelligence hub. We ingest your syndicated, retailer, and internal data into one place, build the dashboards your team needs, and give you an AI analyst trained on your numbers. You can ask questions in plain English ("what drove the Walmart decline last period"), pull pivot-ready Excel exports for deeper dives, and reference live dashboards between cycles. It's live day one, branded to your business, and updated continuously.
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Agencies sell projects. We're an embedded function. Agencies disappear between engagements. We're in your Slack on cycle two. Agencies bill $150K+ across the year for episodic work. We deliver continuous research, BI, and strategy for $52K to $156K, with no project-by-project re-scoping.
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A fully loaded insights hire runs $140K to $195K and takes three to six months to ramp. We're live on day one with research methodology, BI infrastructure, and category pattern recognition across multiple brands. When you're ready for a full-time hire, we hand off cleanly. Until then, we replace the function at a fraction of the cost.
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The retainer still works. The portal ingests whatever client-owned data you have. Many clients start with retailer portals and primary research, then add syndicated data later. We can advise on sourcing syndicated data when the time is right.
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Research and insight credits roll forward one cycle. Maximum balance is 2 credits at Essential, 4 at Advanced, 6 at Enterprise. Credits don't expire mid-cycle, so you can flex your cycle around what the business actually needs.
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Yes. Four-week cycles, no long-term contracts. Pause between cycles or end the retainer entirely with no penalty. Most clients stay because the function compounds, not because they're locked in.