mazeo references every player of the market research world in France: over 13,000 professionals, in over 1,300 companies, clients and suppliers alike, and gathers all the data about them. We analysed this base to draw a portrait of the industry: who does research, in which companies, in which words, and how it all moves.
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1,355 companies have at least one research professional in the mazeo database. Clients are the companies that buy research; suppliers are those that carry it out or equip it: agencies, fieldwork and panel companies, consulting, media agencies, tool vendors. Plus 87 research bodies, schools and associations.
What it meansTwo companies out of three in the industry are clients. Among suppliers, one in two is a research agency; the others are consulting, fieldwork and panel companies, media agencies and tool vendors.
Clients 62% · Suppliers 31% · plus 87 research bodies, schools and associations (6%).
Sector of the company record.
The area of each circle is proportional to the number of professionals.
Half of the companies have three research professionals or fewer. In a large group the median is twelve; in a mid-size company, three; in an SME, one. One company in three has only one.
What it meansThe size of the research team follows the size of the company. Very large teams remain rare: twenty-one companies have more than fifty.
On the client side. The largest teams: Sephora 161, E.Leclerc 120, Coty 119, L'Oréal 118.
In client job titles, there are 74 “insight” for every 100 “études” (the French word for research). In research agencies, 16 per 100: the word is five times rarer there.
What it meansThe vocabulary of the trade changes on the client side first, and it changes with generations: “insight” appears in 4% of positions taken before 2018, and 10% of those taken since 2024.
“insight” per 100 “études” in job titles
“insight” per 100 “études” in job titles
Since July 2026, 24 research professionals have switched sides. Of these 24 moves, 19 go from a supplier to a client, 5 the other way.
What it meansWhen leaving a supplier, moving to a client is the most frequent path. The reverse exists, but four times less.
Among the clients that welcomed a professional coming from a supplier: McDonald's, Givaudan, Pernod Ricard, Deezer, Mastercard, Orange, Coty, Bonduelle.
Tenure in the current position: 33% for less than two years, including 14% for less than one year.
What it meansThe research trade sees a high turnover of positions: within two years, one contact in three has changed.
418 offers collected from April to September 2026 at the companies in the database: 253 at clients, 139 at suppliers. Nearly one offer in two is an internship or apprenticeship; the roles sought are research and insight first, then data.
What it meansA job offer at a client is a signal: a research team that grows, needs that grow.
Classified from the job title. 11% other roles (project manager, marketing, merchandising). On the client side, the top recruiters: Lactalis 11 offers, Groupe BPCE 7, Chanel 7.
Half of research professionals have over fifteen years in the trade. Three in four have over ten, one in three over twenty.
What it meansBeginners are rare in research teams: fewer than one professional in four has less than ten years in the trade.
Total experience declared on the profile, 11,228 profiles filled in. Four employers, median.
200 agencies, 3,982 research professionals. Seven per agency, median, and 36 agencies have only one.
What it meansThe agency world is concentrated at the top and scattered at the bottom: ten large houses on one side, 190 agencies of seven people, median, on the other.
2,042 research professionals
1,940 research professionals
Agencies with at least one research professional in the database.
Per 1,000 employees in France, luxury has 31 research professionals, beauty 25, health 22, banking 4. In volume, food and beverage employs the most, ahead of beauty and retail.
What it meansTwo complementary readings: food and beverage weighs by its size, luxury and beauty by the place they give to research.
Headcount in France from the register, sectors with at least 12 companies of known headcount.
8,275 research professionals in the Paris region, and two head offices out of three. Lyon comes far behind, with 611.
What it meansThe trade is highly concentrated in Paris. Outside the Paris region, Lyon, Lille and Toulouse are the three leading hubs.
Location declared on the profile.
64% went through a business or management school. Marketing 47%, statistics 10%, social sciences 10%.
What it meansResearch recruits first from business schools and marketing tracks. Statisticians and social sciences remain a minority, at 10% each.
Number of research professionals who attended the school. Several degrees per person are possible.
In company leadership, a little over one in two. The gap is the same on the client side and on the supplier side.
What it meansThe trade is largely female, and leadership a little less so: 56% versus 66%.
Estimated from first names, INSEE file, 95% of first names recognised. Leadership: executives, VPs and directors.
190 public research contracts awarded in 2023, 269 in 2025. €204M over three years, conservative amount, €100k per contract, median.
What it meansThe number of public research contracts grew by 42% in two years. Six winners out of ten won only one contract: public buyers work with many different agencies. mazeo lists these tenders every day, sorts them by research trade and links to each notice, on Dernier appel. You can sign up to receive them every Monday.
DECP data. Part of the rise comes from better reporting since 2024.
mazeo has mapped the whole market research industry in France: over 1,300 companies and over 13,000 professionals, and the database grows every day. mazeo is the only prospecting tool built for market research.
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