Quantum Consumer Solutions & Flipkart Internet, Knowledge Excel, and Plum Insights and Strategy Win Top Honours at MRSI’s 34th Annual Market Research Seminar

Market Research Society of India’s (MRSI) 34^th Annual Market Research Seminar featured  22 shortlisted papers from over 100 submissions across three categories – Terrain that focused on People; Compass, which discussed Methodology; and Instruments, which explored Technology and Innovation under the theme, ‘The Next Human’. The 2-day knowledge platform brought together the research and insights industry to understand how the next human is shaping the new rules of growth.

Emerging as winners were:

Quantum Consumer Solutions & Flipkart Internet, for their paper titled ‘Mapping the Human in High Definition: What Beauty Reveals About India’s Next Human’ under Terrain

Knowledge Excel for their paper titled ‘Confidence Before Conclusions: Developing the Analytical Insight Confidence Framework’ under Compass,

and

Plum Insights and Strategy for their paper titled ‘The Last Mile of Judgement: A Field Study of How Researchers Negotiate Authorship with AI’ under Instruments.

Hindustan Unilever Limited, Smytten PulseAI Research and NielsenIQ & Mankind Consumer Products Pvt. Ltd. were respectively recognised as runners-ups at the 34^th Annual Market Research Seminar.

Dr. A.K. Pradeep, Founder and CEO, Sensori.ai. delivered the inaugural keynote, ‘Extracting Insights and Commercial Wins from the Nonconscious Mind of the Consumer’. The session explored how the nonconscious mind can uncover deeper insights and translate them into commercial opportunities. He highlighted that in a world where Generative AI can produce endless ideas and solutions, the real competitive advantage lies in identifying what truly resonates with consumers. He emphasised that while AI can accelerate innovation and decision-making, understanding human behaviour and emotions remains essential.

Building upon this insight, a panel titled,‘More Than Meets the Eye: Understanding the Consumer in Full,’ moderated by Shalini Sinha, Group Service Line Leader – IUU, CRE & SIA, Ipsos featured 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 panel discussed how rapid technological advancements, particularly AI, are impacting the pace of human adaptation. The session highlighted the uncertainty of this transitional phase and emphasised the need to navigate differing perspectives and seek a balance between technological progress and human understanding.

Another session titled ‘The Human has Left the Segmentation. Decoding THE NEXT HUMAN,’ moderated by Priyanka Bhargav, Vice President – CMI and Customer Strategy, L’Oréal, featured Sunder Balasubramanian, Head – Marketing, Kenvue India and Unni Hariharan, B&M and CB&I Practice Leader, NIQ – SA&I. The session discussed how changing consumer contexts are influencing decision-making, highlighting the need to move beyond traditional research towards a more nuanced understanding of consumer 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. Each year, we witness original papers that push brands to rethink how they approach business and their consumer and this year was no different. ‘The Next Human’ spotlighted the need for deeper, more nuanced insights to navigate an increasingly complex marketplace. As we conclude the 2026 Seminar, we are confident that the collective curiosity, knowledge and innovation of our industry will continue to push the boundaries of what research can achieve, while further strengthening India’s position as a global hub for research and insights.”

Among the other highlights of the Seminar was a session by Niraj Ruparel, Creative Technology Lead, WPP & WPP Media and  Vijay Raj, Insight Growth, where they introduced attendees to a humanoid  and the future of the ‘Next Human’ through an engaging session on AI, robotics and creativity and 1001 Stories’ Co-Founder, Context Architecture, Reshma Tonse’s session, ‘India in Her Sleep: Deciphering a Nation’s Collective Consciousness Through the Symbols, Narratives and Visual Vocabulary Occurring in Today’s Dreams and Nightmares’.

As a part of MRSI’s The Community Program initiative, ‘Borderless Access’s Garvita Chauhan, and Aditya Kumar ‘Life After Burns’ presented their winning paper from ESOMAR’s Research Got Talent. Puneet Avasthi, Senior Director at Kantar presented the Indian Research & Insights Industry 2026 Update.