Market Research in Latin America
Hope Research Group runs consumer and trade research across ten Latin American markets, with additional markets available on request. Our teams work in Spanish and Portuguese, use methods proven across four decades of Caribbean and LATAM fieldwork, and deliver Fortune 500 grade insight without the geographic blind spots that come from managing the region remotely.
Services we provide
Six research services, delivered by teams working in-market in Spanish and Portuguese.
Qualitative Research
In-person and online focus groups, in-depth interviews, and ethnographic studies. Moderators matched to each country's regional dialect and cultural context.
Quantitative Surveys
CATI, online, and CAPI surveys across LATAM. Sample sourced through in-country recruitment and, for rural and hard-to-reach populations, face-to-face intercept.
Market Entry Research
Feasibility studies, market sizing, competitive landscape work, and consumer readiness assessments for brands entering a LATAM market for the first time.
Brand Tracking
Continuous brand health tracking with regional benchmarks. Awareness, trial, usage, and NPS on a quarterly or annual cadence across single or multiple markets.
Fieldwork Partnership
Data collection, recruitment, and local project management for international agencies conducting research in Latin America. We execute to your specifications and deliver to your platform.
Distribution and Retail Audits
On-the-ground retail audit and distribution analysis. SKU availability, shelf positioning, pricing, and promotional compliance at the store level.
Planning Latin America market research?
We scope every project with a free proposal, returned in 24 to 48 hours depending on complexity.
Country Coverage
Active fieldwork across ten primary markets. Additional LATAM markets available on request.
Combined population of the ten primary markets: approximately 534M.
Mexico
132M
Largest Spanish-speaking economy
Brazil
213M
Portuguese-language studies
Colombia
53M
Fast-growing consumer economy
Argentina
46M
Strong premium consumer segment
Peru
35M
Growing middle class
Chile
20M
Advanced South American consumer market
Guatemala
19M
Largest Central American economy
El Salvador
6M
Strategic Central American entry point
Costa Rica
5M
Regional services and tech hub
Panama
5M
Regional financial and trade hub
Populations rounded to nearest million from World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2025. Combined footprint ~534M.
Additional LATAM markets available on request.
Dominican Republic
The DR is part of our Caribbean coverage, where we run direct in-country fieldwork. Programs that cross DR and LATAM run as one HRG project covering both regions.
View Dominican Republic research →How trade actually works in LATAM
Retail execution in Latin America is not a modern-trade story. Across the Caribbean and LATAM markets we work in, Traditional Trade dominates the outlet count. Modern Trade carries more pass-through volume, particularly in multi-serve and premium formats, but the sheer density of small independent groceries, corner shops, colmados, kioscos, and community stores is what shapes how a category actually reaches a consumer.
Small shops are not a residual channel. They serve individual neighborhoods, extend informal credit, stock single-serve pack sizes to match household cash flow, and see a level of shopper traffic that dwarfs most modern trade locations by frequency of visit. Any distribution strategy for the region that treats them as a rounding error will be wrong on volume, wrong on brand equity, and wrong on the operational reality of getting product to shelf.
From our own fieldwork
14,000+
Retail outlets audited
Trinidad and Tobago distribution census. The vast majority were small independent groceries, corner shops, and community stores, the same Traditional Trade structure that shapes distribution across most Latin American markets.
That structural pattern, Traditional Trade dominating outlet count, holds across most Caribbean and Latin American markets we work in. A retail audit designed only around modern trade misses where volume actually moves, especially for FMCG categories with high frequency of purchase.
Source: HRG Trinidad and Tobago Distribution Census. Fieldwork baseline conducted 2013.
Why clients choose Hope Research Group for Latin America
40 Years in Caribbean and Latin American Markets
Hope Research Group has conducted consumer, trade, and social research since 1985. Fortune 500 brands in beverages, banking, and telecoms have relied on our regional expertise for market entry, brand strategy, and consumer insight over multi-year regional programs. We treat the Caribbean and Latin America as one research region, which is how buyers who cover both actually structure their programs.
Native Bilingual Teams
Our moderators, interviewers, and recruiters are native Spanish and Portuguese speakers based in the markets we research. This removes the translation lag and cultural misreading that undermine research quality when studies are managed from outside the region.
Ground-Level Fieldwork
Field teams operate in-market. Where a study requires reaching rural, low-income, or professional segments that online panels cannot access, we use CATI and face-to-face methods sourced through in-country recruitment. Quality control runs against ESOMAR Code of Conduct standards for participant privacy and data integrity.
South America and Central America in One Program
Clients who need harmonized studies across South America and Central America run one program with one project team. Instrument development, translation, quota design, and reporting sit under a single owner. Local moderation and recruitment happen in-country.
How we work
Every LATAM project has a single HRG owner accountable for scope, timeline, quality, and delivery. Instrument design, translation, quota structure, and reporting are managed centrally. In-country moderation, interviewing, and recruitment are conducted in Spanish or Portuguese by teams working in each market. Quality controls include soft quota monitoring, response validation, back-translation for cross-market questionnaires, and standard ESOMAR data protection. Deliverables can be produced in English, Spanish, or both, in whatever format your team uses internally.
Methodologies
- ✓In-person focus groups (Spanish and Portuguese)
- ✓Online focus groups across LATAM
- ✓CATI telephone surveys
- ✓Online surveys
- ✓CAPI field surveys in urban and rural markets
- ✓Ethnographic research and home visits
- ✓Central location tests (CLTs)
- ✓Mall intercepts
- ✓Conjoint and MaxDiff analysis
- ✓Mystery shopping and retail audits
Industries Served
FMCG and CPG
Food and Beverage
Financial Services
Healthcare and Pharma
Telecommunications
Retail and E-commerce
Tourism and Hospitality
Government and NGO
Frequently Asked Questions
What countries does Hope Research Group cover in Latin America?
Our primary LATAM coverage is ten markets: Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Additional LATAM markets are available on request. Studies run in Spanish across Spanish-speaking markets and in Portuguese for Brazil.
Do you cover South America as well as Central America and Mexico?
Yes. Our primary South American coverage is Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. Central American coverage runs across Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Mexico is included as a primary market. For clients running harmonized studies across multiple markets, we design one program with one project owner and country-level fieldwork underneath.
Is the Dominican Republic part of your Latin America practice?
The Dominican Republic sits in our Caribbean coverage, which is a separate direct-fieldwork region. Clients running research across both Caribbean and LATAM markets use one HRG program that covers both.
What languages do your Latin America teams work in?
Spanish across Spanish-speaking Latin American markets, and Portuguese for Brazil. All moderators and interviewers are native speakers. Deliverables can be produced in English, Spanish, or both.
What industries do you serve in Latin America?
FMCG and CPG, food and beverage, financial services, pharmaceutical and healthcare, telecommunications, retail and e-commerce, tourism and hospitality, and government and NGO programs.
How do you ensure data quality in Latin American fieldwork?
Recruitment is done in-market rather than through third-party aggregators alone. Each study includes response validation, soft quota monitoring, and back-translation checks for cross-market questionnaires. We follow ESOMAR Code of Conduct standards for participant privacy and data integrity.
How long does a Latin America research project take?
Single-country qualitative studies (8 focus groups or 20 IDIs) typically run 4 to 6 weeks from brief to report. Multi-country quantitative surveys across 5 markets typically run 8 to 12 weeks. Accelerated timelines are available for clients with fixed delivery dates.
How much does Latin America market research cost?
Costs vary by country scope and methodology. Single-country studies typically range from USD 20,000 to 60,000 depending on sample size and methodology. Multi-country studies covering 3 to 5 LATAM markets typically range from USD 75,000 to 200,000. Regional programs covering all ten primary markets, or the primary ten plus additional markets on request, can exceed USD 300,000. Brazil and Mexico tend to be higher due to geographic scale. Smaller markets are generally more cost-efficient. We provide fixed-fee project pricing based on a scoped proposal at no charge.
Written by the HRG LATAM team
HRG's LATAM team combines regional research capability built since 1985 with in-country language and cultural expertise. The team runs consumer, trade, and B2B studies across ten primary Latin American markets and reports to Fortune 500 clients in beverages, banking, telecoms, and other sectors.
Ready to Start Your Research?
Tell us your Latin America or South America research objective and we will return a scoped proposal within 24 to 48 hours at no charge, depending on complexity.