Consumer Research Takes Centre Stage as Quantum Consumer Solutions, Flipkart Internet, Knowledge Excel and Plum Insights Win MRSI Awards

Nitin Kamat, Chief Growth & Partnerships Officer, TAM Media Research and President, Market Research Society of India, highlights the importance of understanding changing consumer behaviour as the 34th Annual Market Research Seminar recognises three winning research papers from 22

Quantum Consumer Solutions and Flipkart Internet, Knowledge Excel, and Plum Insights and Strategy secured top honours at the Market Research Society of India’s (MRSI) 34th Annual Market Research Seminar, which examined changing consumer behaviour and the role of technology in research.
Held under the theme “The Next Human”, the two day seminar brought together professionals from the research and insights industry to discuss how evolving consumer expectations, artificial intelligence and new research methods are influencing business decisions.

The seminar featured 22 shortlisted original research papers selected from more than 100 submissions across three categories: Terrain, Compass and Instruments.
Terrain focused on people and consumer understanding, Compass examined research methodology, and Instruments addressed technology and innovation.
Quantum Consumer Solutions and Flipkart Internet won the Terrain category for their paper titled “Mapping the Human in High Definition: What Beauty Reveals About India’s Next Human”.

Knowledge Excel received the Compass award for “Confidence Before Conclusions: Developing the Analytical Insight Confidence Framework”.
Plum Insights and Strategy won the Instruments category for “The Last Mile of Judgement: A Field Study of How Researchers Negotiate Authorship with AI”.
Hindustan Unilever Limited, Smytten PulseAI Research, and NielsenIQ with Mankind Consumer Products Pvt. Ltd. were recognised as runners up in the respective categories.
The programme opened with a keynote address by Dr. A.K. Pradeep, Founder and CEO, Sensori.ai, titled “Extracting Insights and Commercial Wins from the Nonconscious Mind of the Consumer”.

His presentation examined the role of nonconscious consumer responses in identifying meaningful insights and commercial opportunities.
Dr. Pradeep discussed how generative AI can accelerate the production of ideas and potential solutions, while understanding consumer emotions and behaviour remains important in determining which ideas are likely to resonate.
A panel titled “More Than Meets the Eye: Understanding the Consumer in Full” explored the relationship between technological advancement and human adaptation.
The discussion was moderated by Shalini Sinha, Group Service Line Leader, IUU, CRE & SIA, Ipsos.

Panel participants included Soumya Mohanty, Managing Director & Chief Solutions Officer, South Asia Insights Division, Kantar; Arvind Mohan, Founder & Managing Partner, Religious Brands; Prof. Rajneesh Krishna, Professor, MICA; Jashish Kambli, Founder, Future Factory; and Oslando Desouza, Vice President, Head of Insight, Hindustan Unilever Limited.
The discussion examined the pace of technological change, particularly developments in artificial intelligence, and the challenges involved in understanding how consumers respond to these changes.
Another session, “The Human has Left the Segmentation. Decoding THE NEXT HUMAN”, considered how changing consumer circumstances are affecting purchasing decisions and established approaches to audience segmentation.

The discussion was moderated by Priyanka Bhargav, Vice President, CMI and Customer Strategy, L’Oréal.
Speakers included Sunder Balasubramanian, Head, Marketing, Kenvue India, and Unni Hariharan, B&M and CB&I Practice Leader, NIQ SA&I.
The session examined the limitations of traditional consumer segmentation and the need for research approaches that account for differences in individual circumstances and behaviour.
Nitin Kamat, Chief Growth & Partnerships Officer, TAM Media Research and President, MRSI, said, “MRSI’s Seminar has built a legacy of igniting conversations and innovations for the research and insights sector.”

He highlighted the contribution of original research papers in helping businesses reconsider how they understand consumers and make decisions.
Kamat also noted that the 2026 theme drew attention to the importance of more detailed consumer insights in an increasingly complex marketplace.
The seminar included a presentation by Niraj Ruparel, Creative Technology Lead, WPP & WPP Media, and Vijay Raj, Insight Growth.
Their session introduced attendees to a humanoid and explored developments involving artificial intelligence, robotics and creativity.

Reshma Tonse, Co-Founder, Context Architecture, 1001 Stories, presented a session titled “India in Her Sleep: Deciphering a Nation’s Collective Consciousness Through the Symbols, Narratives and Visual Vocabulary Occurring in Today’s Dreams and Nightmares”.
The presentation explored the use of dreams, symbols and visual expression as a way of examining collective human experiences.
As part of MRSI’s The Community Program initiative, Garvita Chauhan of Borderless Access and Aditya Kumar of Life After Burns presented their winning paper from ESOMAR’s Research Got Talent.
Puneet Avasthi, Senior Director, Kantar, also presented the Indian Research & Insights Industry 2026 Update.

Across the seminar, discussions examined the growing influence of AI on research practices while emphasising the continuing importance of human judgement, emotional understanding and contextual interpretation.
The winning papers reflected these priorities through studies of consumer behaviour, analytical confidence and the relationship between researchers and AI generated work.
The 34th Annual Market Research Seminar concluded with recognition of the winning research teams and discussions on the future direction of India’s research and insights industry.

At Prittle Prattle News, featuring you virtuously, we celebrate the commitment and innovation. Led by Editor-in-Chief Smruti Bhalerao, our platform is dedicated to sharing impactful stories that inspire change and create awareness. Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for more stories that matter.