Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does this activity cover?
It covers market research and consultancy, including consumer and market studies, brand and product testing, buying-habit analysis, and public-opinion polling, with statistical analysis of the results.
2. Who are the typical clients?
Brands testing products, retailers sizing markets, agencies validating campaigns, and organisations gauging public opinion across the UAE and the wider region.
3. What methods does the research use?
Methods include surveys, focus groups, interviews, and fieldwork across the emirates, with statistical analysis turning the responses into findings, dashboards, and recommendations.
4. Is this the same as advertising?
No. This activity researches markets and opinion. Creating and placing advertising campaigns falls under a separate activity, as do public-relations activities.
5. Does this include public-opinion polling?
Yes. Polling public opinion on social, economic, and consumer issues, with statistical analysis of the results, falls within the scope of this activity.
Topic Summary
Tap Into a Booming Global Research Market
The global market research services market is forecast to reach USD 116.02 billion by 2030, growing at roughly 4.6 percent annually. The faster-growing insights-as-a-service segment alone is projected to hit USD 18.85 billion by 2030, signaling strong demand for evidence-based decision-making.
Choose the Right Business Activity Code
Your firm would operate under activity code 7320.95 — Marketing Research and Consultancies, which covers consumer research, market studies, brand and product testing, and public-opinion polling. This single license authorizes the full range of research and consultancy services you are likely to offer.
Benefit From 100% Foreign Ownership
Meydan Free Zone allows complete foreign ownership with no local sponsor required, meaning founders retain full control of their business. Combined with zero corporate tax on qualifying income and full profit repatriation, the setup is designed to keep more revenue in your hands.
Serve a Diverse Mix of Regional Clients
Potential clients include brands testing new products, retailers sizing market opportunities, agencies validating campaigns, and organizations gauging public opinion across the UAE and wider region. The variety of client types means multiple revenue streams from a single licensed operation.
Deliver Insight Across the Full Research Cycle
A licensed firm can handle everything from survey design and bilingual fieldwork in Arabic and English to data cleaning, statistical analysis, and final recommendations. Clients pay for the rigour that transforms raw responses into a clear, actionable finding.
Launch Quickly With a Digital Licensing Process
Meydan Free Zone offers a fully digital licensing process, reducing the paperwork and time typically associated with company formation. This lets founders focus on building client relationships and research capabilities rather than navigating lengthy administrative steps.
Position Your Firm as the Homework Behind Decisions
In a competitive UAE market, research firms that win are those whose findings hold up and whose advice proves right over time. By replacing guesswork with verified evidence, your consultancy becomes an indispensable partner every time a brand plans a launch, pricing strategy, or campaign.
How to Start a Marketing Research & Consultancies Business in Dubai with Meydan Free Zone
Before a brand spends a dirham on a UAE launch, someone asks the questions. Will shoppers in Dubai pay a premium for this? Which flavour sells in Abu Dhabi? What do residents really think of the ads? A marketing research firm turns those questions into surveys, data, and a clear answer a client can act on.
Marketing research is the homework behind every confident business decision. The global market research services market is forecast to reach USD 116.02 billion by 2030, growing at about 4.6 percent a year, according to The Business Research Company1.
The faster-growing, data-driven side of the field, insights-as-a-service, was worth USD 5.82 billion in 2024 and is on track to reach USD 18.85 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research2. For a research and consultancy firm in the UAE, that is a market of clients who would rather know than guess: every product, campaign, and expansion is safer with evidence behind it.
Marketing research and consultancies sell evidence: the consumer, market, and opinion data that guide what companies build, price, and promote. The field is growing worldwide, with its data-driven segment growing fastest. The headline number is the size of the global market research services market.
Sources: The Business Research Company (2026); Grand View Research (2025).
Your All-in-One Solutions for Business Setup in Dubai
Explore Meydan PlusPicture a study running out of a Dubai research office. A team designs a survey and translates it into Arabic and English. Field researchers gather responses across the emirates while an analyst cleans the data as it lands. By the end of the month the findings become a deck: what people think, what they will buy, and what the client should do next. The firm sells confidence, charging for the rigour that turns a hunch into a number. In a market full of competing brands, the research firms that win are the ones whose findings hold up and whose advice proves right.
Whether it is a product test, a consumer survey, or an opinion poll, a marketing research firm turns questions into the evidence a business needs to decide.
Who is this for?
- Market research firms: Businesses running consumer, market, and product research for UAE and regional clients.
- Insights and analytics consultancies: Operators turning survey and market data into actionable findings.
- Public-opinion and polling specialists: Firms gauging public opinion on social, economic, and consumer issues.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate a marketing research and consultancies business serving a region where brands invest heavily in understanding their market.
Streamlined Residency Solutions for Investors, Employees and Families
Explore mResidency7320.95 - Marketing Research & Consultancies
Under this activity, your business is licensed to conduct market research and consultancy, including consumer research, market studies, and public-opinion polling.
A marketing research and consultancy firm gathers and analyses data so its clients can make better decisions. The work spans market potential studies, consumer research and buying-habit analysis, brand and product testing, public-opinion polling, and the statistical analysis that turns raw responses into findings.
The clients are mixed: brands testing a product, retailers sizing a market, agencies validating a campaign, and organisations gauging public opinion. The product is insight: the firm is paid to replace guesswork with evidence a client can act on.
| Research Services | Methods | Analysis | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studies commissioned to answer a specific question a client cannot confidently answer from desk research alone. Market potential studies, consumer and buying-habit research, brand and product testing, and opinion polling. | Quantitative and qualitative work in the field, in Arabic and English, with samples drawn to reflect who the client actually sells to. Think of surveys, focus groups, interviews, fieldwork, and data collection. | Findings that go beyond headline numbers, with the differences between segments interpreted, not just tabulated. Think of statistical analysis, segmentation, and trend interpretation. | A report the client can take into a boardroom and a recommendation they can defend when it gets challenged. Think of finding reports, dashboards, recommendations, and consultancy. |
| GLOBAL MARKET | MARKET GROWTH | INSIGHTS MARKET | INSIGHTS FORECAST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global market research services forecast to reach USD 116.02 billion by 2030¹. | Global market research services growing at 4.6 percent a year to 2030¹. | Global insights-as-a-service market was USD 5.82 billion in 2024². | Global insights-as-a-service forecast to reach USD 18.85 billion by 2030². |
The activity is specifically for market research, consultancy, and public-opinion polling. Creating and placing advertising campaigns (7310) falls under a separate activity, as do public-relations activities (7020). Acting on the findings by running the marketing itself is also separate.
The line is precise. If your business researches markets, consumers, and opinion and advises clients on the findings, you are in. If you create and run advertising campaigns, or provide public relations, rather than research, a different activity applies.
Third-Party Approval
No third-party approval is required for this business activity.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Let's ConnectCitations
1 The Business Research Company. Market Research Services Global Market Report. The Business Research Company, 2026.
2 Grand View Research. Insights-as-a-Service Market Report. Grand View Research, 2025.
