AI meets psychology - experience the future of consumption interactively with the rheingold Avatar Suite.

Understanding Impacts. Impacting Business. Psychologically.

Gain a competitive edge in today’s fast-evolving business landscape by harnessing our expertise in psychological and cross-cultural market research. With over 30 years of experience, conducting over 5,000 in-depth explorations (e.g. interviews, focus groups, immersions, ethnographies) annually worldwide, our seasoned team of psychologists equips your business with actionable insights. Navigate dynamic consumer changes with confidence, receiving tailored recommendations.We decipher human minds for psychologically relevant strategies, products, brands and campaigns seamlessly integrating AI, digital tools, and quantitative data.

With offices in Germany, San Francisco and Shanghai, we can’t wait to wrap our heads around your business challenge.

Understanding Impacts. Impacting Business. Psychologically.

Gain a competitive edge in today's fast-evolving business landscape by harnessing our expertise in psychological and cross-cultural market research. With over 30 years of experience, conducting over 5,000 in-depth explorations (e.g. interviews, focus groups, immersions, ethnographies) annually worldwide, our seasoned team of psychologists equips your business with actionable insights. Navigate dynamic consumer changes with confidence, receiving tailored recommendations.we decipher human minds for psychologically relevant strategies, products, brands and campaigns seamlessly integrating AI, digital tools, and quantitative data.

With offices in Germany, San Francisco and Shanghai, we can't wait to wrap our heads around your business challenge.

Request a free consultation

Your US Contact:

Patricia Sauerbrey Colton
Managing Partner, rheingold USA
Email: colton@rheingold-online.com
Phone: +1 415-400-9969

Contact our Offices in Germany and China here.

rheingold LLC
Institute for Qualitative Market and Media Research
1 Sansome Street, Suite 1400
San Francisco, CA 94104

New book: "We crisis acrobats"

What strategies do we develop in a crisis? "Wir Krisenakrobaten - Psychogramm einer verunsicherten Gesellschaft", by Stephan Grünewald has been published. Watch the recording of the digital book launch here.

To the premiere

rheingold speakers for your event

Our experts enrich your events with psychological insights into consumer behavior, society and innovative topics of the future. They will provide you with practical perspectives and inspiring ideas based on the latest research.

Our speakers

Consumption study 2025

Crises shape everyday life - and the shopping cart. A recent in-depth psychological study conducted by the Cologne-based rheingold Institute on behalf of Unilever shows how consumer behavior changes in uncertain times.

to the study

rheingold Politics & Society

The rheingold Institute researches long-term trends and basic psychological constants that significantly influence opinions and behavior. This enables companies, political parties and institutions to develop sustainable strategies and respond specifically to fears and desires.

Politics & Society

We crisis acrobats

How do people assert themselves in a crisis? "Wir Krisenakrobaten - Psychogramm einer verunsicherten Gesellschaft" will be published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch at the beginning of October 2025. It will be presented in a free digital book premiere with Theo Koll on October 9.

To the book premiere

rheingold speakers for your event

Our speakers

Consumption study 2025

to the study

rheingold Politics & Society

With its research, the rheingold Institute focuses on long-term trends and recognizes basic psychological constants that have a significant influence on people's opinions and behaviour.

Politics & Society

The rheingoldFeatures

The following in-depth psychological and digital rheingold methods and tools help you understand the secret logics of consumer behaviors to jointly develop pinpointed marketing measures.

rheingold deepEmotions - Understanding and measuring emotions

Rethinking Advertising Research - emotions as the fuel of action

Expedition Insights - Research as an experience

The one day workshop “Expedition Insights” is market research at your fingertips and brings your team in touch with consumers.

rheingoldConceptLab - Creative concept development in a team in digital times

The concept ideas are tested in parallel in focus groups and in-depth interviews for their (market) suitability and iteratively optimized to meet the sometimes unconscious wishes of consumers.

rheingoldCoCreation - Looking through the customer's glasses

rheingoldCoCreation gives client teams the opportunity to experience consumer realities up close and personal through their eyes and gut feelings.

Brand Success Code - Strengthen brands

The starting point for successful brand management is to explore the strategic relevance of the brand. Successful brand management and assessment requires to understand the uniquely relevant rules of the category.

More features

The rheingoldFeatures

Over time, we have continuously optimized our own rheingold methods and tools and supplemented them with digital and agile elements. You will only find that with us.

rheingold deepEmotions

rheingold deepEmotions combines qualitative understanding and implicit, objective emotion measurement and is thus predestined for advertising effectiveness research - especially as a pretest. The tool combines TAWNY's emotion analytics based on state-of-the-art AI and deep learning with rheingold's deep psychological analysis.

Expedition Insights - experience rheingold research live

A day of "aha" moments - together with rheingold, your team researches up close with the consumer.

The rheingoldConceptLab

rheingoldConceptLab. Creative processes run in real time and are tested and optimized in parallel with the focus groups and in-depth interviews.

Revealing the unconscious 2.0 with rheingoldArena®

The hybrid rheingold exploration method rheingoldArena® creates a focus group scenario that multiplies insights through the connection of a live focus group and chat panel.

Strategy consulting

The strategy afterwards. With rheingoldBridging, you work out with our experts how to proceed after a study.

rheingoldCoCreation - Looking through the consumer's eyes

The rheingoldCoCreation gives companies the opportunity to experience this firsthand through the eyes and guts of the consumer.

Strengthening Brands - The Brand Success Code

The success of brands today depends on five factors. This has been confirmed by rheingold studies over the past 20 years. The starting point for successful brand management is the question of the strategic relevance of a brand.

Conquering Markets - The Continent of Markets

Thousands of studies from umpteen industries have enabled us to develop a psychological differentiation of markets - the 'Continents of Markets'.

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rheingold Insights

rheingoldInsights - articles, studies and publications based on our in-depth psychological qualitative market research.

Stephan Grünewald on Markus Lanz (November 6, 2025):

It is an evening about crisis acrobatics, solidarity and the art of transforming crisis energy into new beginnings. At the beginning of the program, Markus Lanz introduces rheingold founder Stephan Grünewald - and finds very appreciative words for his new book "Wir Krisenakrobaten".

"We crisis acrobats - a psychogram of an insecure society"

A book about the art of crisis acrobatics

In his new book "Wir Krisenakrobaten - Psychogramm einer verunsicherten Gesellschaft", Stephan Grünewald puts the German soul on the couch - and shows how people develop astonishing strategies for self-assertion in the midst of a permanent crisis.

AI in the world of work: fascination meets fear of replaceability 

The study "AI and the future of work: stress test for leadership and collaboration" by the rheingold Institute for the randstad Foundation shows that companies are relying on the introduction of technological AI, but are underestimating uncertainty, defensiveness and displacement.

Stephan Grünewald's new book is published: "We crisis acrobats"

GenZ between uncertainty and longing for stability - what does this mean for consumption?

Generation Z is looking for stability, meaning and ways to express themselves. If you want to reach this generation, you have to offer more than just products. It's about understanding their deep longings and giving them support with relevant offers.

Labubu - Why an ugly-cute plush figure has a perfect command of the grammar of TikTok economics

Trend analysis by our Asia team: Labubu is more than just a quirky plush figure: it meets the central psychological needs of a young generation and masters the grammar of the TikTok economy. Between kawaii aesthetics, object of consolation and silent rebellion, it becomes a symbol for an attitude to life.

Why sustainability is losing its appeal

Sustainability is one of the key social challenges of our time. However, from a psychological perspective, it is clear that sustainable behavior is associated with inner contradictions for many people, says psychologist Sabine Loch.

AI meets depth psychology - the rheingold Avatar Suite

The rheingold Avatar Suite enables the creation of individual AI avatars based on basic psychological needs and thus revolutionizes qualitative in-depth psychological market research. Our goal: to bring consumer needs to life and understand target groups more precisely.

Fear of social division - solidarity in Germany in crisis

Between erosion and growing longing: In-depth psychological and population-representative rheingold study on the state of social cohesion in Germany.