Curion, a portfolio company of Summit Park, has acquired Blue Yonder Research, a U.K.-based market research agency focused on R&D and innovation insights, as Curion looks to broaden its global delivery footprint and deepen support for multinational clients.
The deal adds Blue Yonder’s outsourced delivery model, Sense:Lab, and expands Curion’s ability to run multi-year, multi-market research programs that span sensory testing, qualitative research, and quantitative research. Curion said the combination strengthens its position in core end markets where it already has long-standing client relationships, while also widening its addressable market.
Founded in Leeds in 2005 by Jonathan Million, Blue Yonder serves a diversified client base across the U.K., U.S., Latin America, Asia, and continental Europe. Its work spans categories including personal care, home care, food and beverage, and pet care, supporting both global consumer packaged goods companies and emerging growth brands with repeat, multi-category programs.
Summit Park Vice President Jon McCarthy said the acquisition aligns with Curion’s growth strategy and is intended to enhance the platform’s capabilities in product and consumer insights. Curion CEO Steve Jungmann said the combined teams aim to help brands move faster from early-stage ideas to in-market execution. Million, who remains CEO of Blue Yonder Research, said joining Curion brings added scale and reach to Blue Yonder’s work in understanding consumer decision-making.
Curion is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, and provides full-service consumer insights research across multiple end markets, drawing on more than three decades of experience working with R&D and insights teams at large enterprises. Summit Park is a Charlotte-based private investment firm focused on the lower middle market and said it has completed more than 55 investments totaling more than $2.3 billion in enterprise value. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
KEY QUOTES:
“The partnership with Blue Yonder represents a key component of Curion’s growth strategy and supports our shared vision of expanding and enhancing Curion’s capabilities as a market leader in product and consumer insights. Summit Park looks forward to continuing to support the Curion team as it accelerates growth by deepening customer relationships, expanding its presence in key market verticals, and enhancing service capabilities across the global platform of the combined companies.”
Jon McCarthy, Vice President, Summit Park
“Curion and Blue Yonder share a belief that great products start with real human understanding. By bringing our teams together, we’re creating a global partner to help brands innovate with confidence, and move from idea to in-market with speed, clarity, and empathy.”
Steve Jungmann, CEO, Curion
“Joining Curion feels like a natural evolution. We’ve always been driven by a passion for what drives people purchases, their small decisions, their everyday moments. Curion brings the scale, technology, and reach to amplify that passion globally.”
Jonathan Million, CEO and Founder, Blue Yonder Research
