Why FMCG Research Demands Local Expertise
The Southern African FMCG landscape is uniquely complex: a formal retail sector operating alongside vast informal trade networks, across consumers spanning dramatically different income levels, cultural contexts, and media environments. Research instruments built for Western markets consistently misread this reality. RBI has spent thirty-three years designing studies that account for it, which is why our FMCG clients get findings they can actually act on.
We know which methodological shortcuts produce unreliable data and which investments produce findings you can act on. RBI has conducted brand tracking, retail audits, concept tests, and shopper studies for category leaders and challenger brands across food, beverages, household and personal care for over three decades.
Research Types We Deploy
Questions We Help You Answer
- How is our brand perceived relative to key competitors and among which consumer segments are we losing ground?
- Will this new product concept warrant a full launch, or are there formulation/positioning adjustments needed first?
- How is our product performing at shelf across formal and informal trade channels?
- What is driving trial, repeat purchase, and loyalty in our category and how do we improve each?
Typical Clients
The Financial Services Research Challenge
Financial services research in Southern Africa requires specific sensitivity. A significant portion of the population has limited experience with formal financial products, and measurable distrust of institutions in some segments. Obtaining honest responses about financial behaviour requires careful questionnaire design, appropriate channel selection, and fieldwork teams who genuinely understand the context. RBI has run CSAT and NPS tracking for commercial banks, product concept testing for insurance companies, mobile money adoption research for fintech operators, and branch mystery shopping across retail banking networks.dly shifting digital adoption curves, a financially underserved majority, and significant distrust of formal institutions in certain segments.
RBI has conducted CSAT programmes, NPS tracking, product testing, and market entry studies for commercial banks, insurers, microfinance institutions, and fintech operators across our six markets.
Research Types We Deploy
Questions We Help You Answer
- Which touchpoints in our customer journey generate the most friction and which drive loyalty?
- What is preventing low-income consumers from adopting our mobile money or insurance product?
- How do our branch NPS scores compare across regions, and what is driving the variance?
- Is there a viable market for our product in a new country and what adaptations would be required?
Typical Clients
Navigating Rapid Market Evolution
The telecoms sector in Africa is experiencing accelerating disruption, rapid mobile penetration, the transition from voice to data, OTT competition, and the emergence of fintech-adjacent services all require real-time consumer intelligence to navigate effectively.
RBI has served pan-African operators on studies ranging from quarterly NPS tracking to bespoke data adoption barrier research.
Research Types We Deploy
Questions We Help You Answer
- What is driving churn among high-value subscribers and which retention levers are most effective?
- Why is data adoption lagging in specific regions despite good coverage?
- How does our network quality perception compare to competitors across urban and rural segments?
- Which new service bundles would resonate most with target segments and at what price point?
Typical Clients
Research in Service of Public Good
RBI's health and development research practice has supported programmes in HIV prevention, maternal and child health, nutrition, WASH, and reproductive health across our operational markets and beyond.
Our established partnerships with the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and the National Operations & Intelligence Centre (NOIC) bring international rigour and credibility to every health research engagement.
Research Types We Deploy
Questions We Help You Answer
- What are the knowledge gaps, attitude barriers, and practice inhibitors preventing uptake of a health intervention?
- Has this programme achieved its intended behaviour change outcomes across target communities?
- What contextual factors are influencing health-seeking behaviour in specific districts?
- Where are the gaps in health service delivery, and what do communities prioritise for improvement?
Typical Clients
The B2B Research Difference
B2B and industrial research demands a fundamentally different approach, smaller, harder-to-reach respondent universes, complex multi-stakeholder decision-making, and the need for senior interviewer capability. RBI's team has the experience to access and engage procurement managers, distributor owners, and C-suite decision-makers effectively..
Research Types We Deploy
Questions We Help You Answer
- How satisfied are our distributors with our support, pricing, and delivery reliability and where are we losing them to competitors?
- What criteria do procurement managers use when selecting industrial suppliers, and how do we rate?
- What is the realistic market opportunity for our product in a new B2B sector or geographic market?
- Which of our product lines has the strongest value perception among trade customers?
Typical Clients
Research in the Public Interest
RBI has a long track record working with government ministries, regulatory bodies, parastatals, and development institutions across Southern Africa conducting research that informs policy, measures service delivery performance, and supports evidence-based governance.
Our experience navigating sensitive topics, taxation, governance perception, political opinion, and social issues with methodological rigour and ethical care makes us a trusted partner for the public sector.
Research Types We Deploy
Questions We Help You Answer
- How do citizens rate the quality and accessibility of public services in our sector?
- What are the public's primary concerns, and how have perceptions of our institution changed over time?
- Is our public awareness campaign reaching intended audiences and driving the desired behaviour change?
- What barriers are preventing citizen compliance with a new policy or regulation?
Typical Clients
Understanding Educational Stakeholders
Educational institutions in Southern Africa are navigating rapid change shifting student expectations, growing private sector competition, and employer demands that are evolving faster than curricula can follow. RBI’s education research practice spans student satisfaction studies, parent perception surveys, employer brand research, and institutional reputation audits for universities, private schools, vocational training bodies, and EdTech operators across the region.
Research Types We Deploy
Questions We Help You Answer
- What drives students' choice of institution and how does our brand position compare to competitors?
- Where are the gaps in the student experience generating dissatisfaction and attrition?
- What do employers think of our graduates, and how does this affect their recruitment behaviour?
- Is there demand for a new programme or delivery format in our target market?
Typical Clients
Research for a Destination Industry
Southern Africa's tourism sector anchored by Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls, Botswana's Okavango, and a rich cultural offering across the region is a significant economic driver. RBI supports tourism boards, hospitality operators, and destination marketers with research that captures the visitor experience and drives product improvement.
Research Types We Deploy
Questions We Help You Answer
- How do international visitors rate their experience and what would increase length of stay and return visits?
- How is our destination perceived in key source markets relative to competitors?
- Where are the service quality gaps in our hospitality offering, and which improvements most impact guest ratings?
- Which traveller segments represent the highest value opportunity for our destination or property?