Chris Sinclair was watching TV adverts during peak viewing time when he realised his company, The Oxford Research Agency (Tora), had made the bigtime.

“Out of the six adverts, four were for food and drink products that had come through us. It was really exciting. Next day, everyone around the office was buzzing. That's what's so great about this business — you can see the immediate effects of what you're doing.”

The company, which advises on product launches from cereal bars to train journeys, has been through two management buyouts since it started in 1982. Mr Sinclair was behind the latest deal in April 2008 — just before the onset of the worst recession in most people's memories.

However, the agency's workforce has since grown from 45 to more than 60, it has just expanded into new offices at Oxford Business Park, and is poised to open offices in New York and Paris.

Mr Sinclair, 41, said: “Food and drink is not recession-proof but pretty much protected. People still need to eat and drink. Restaurant trade is hit first and people tend to eat in more, so supermarkets are doing well and food manufacturers are still innovating with new packaging and new formulations.

“Our clients seem to be doing very well — not many companies in the world have that.”

Like many people in the industry, he fell into market research by accident, with a job with a sensory research company where consumers went into white booths and described the feel, aroma, taste and visual impression of products.

When he arrived in Oxford in 1989, the agency was a well-kept secret, but since the management buyouts its name has been gaining a global reputation.

During that time, market research has been transformed by new technology. “When I started in 1992, it was all face-to-face interviewing, there was no electronic data and we had to use mainframe computers in the university and draw charts using lightboxes. Projects used to take three to four weeks.

“Today, if a client calls about a product launch we can start in the afternoon and call back in the morning with the results,” he said.

More than 80 per cent of the company's work is on food and drink, and it claims to be able to predict the initial sales of a new product with nine per cent accuracy.

“Some of our clients have to make multi-million pound decisions about whether to build a new factory and we can give them the confidence to advertise on TV and put together large marketing campaigns.”

So does this mean we are all easily hoodwinked by clever marketing?

“We are helping our clients identify where your need is — whether there is a market for a new food or drink.”

A good example is cereal bars, launched by Kelloggs after Tora identified many consumers were skipping breakfast in the early-morning rush to work. He mentions the success of Activia, produced after a rival market research company identified that many people suffer from bloated stomachs.

He says the research is far more sophisticated than simple questions and answers. “If you were to sit down with a consumer and ask them, ‘What new coffee product would you like?’ you wouldn't get very far. We stimulate them with ideas. By showing a concept to a consumer we can tell what a product's potential sales would be. Clients don't have to make the product — we can show a picture.”

A new transformation is now on the way, he believes, due to the increasing power of Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

Tora is investing £427m in Simply Zesty, Ireland's largest social media firm, whose clients include Vodafone, Nokia and the Body Shop, and two new Simply Zesty recruits will work in Oxford.

It is easy to see why mobile phone companies should be interested in social media, which can now be accessed on iPhones and Blackberries. But are Facebook users interested in new food and drink products?

Mr Sinclair has no doubts. “The opportunities for research are really interesting. Until now, the research process has been a static question-and-answer. I see it as becoming much more of a flexible interaction — a conversation.”

He describes an old poster showing a researcher sitting on a high stool making notes as a family has dinner.

“With social media, people can Tweet from their dinner table, or send you a video of a disaster when they were making pasta. We have a big challenge now about how we do things. We are telling our clients that they need to be out there having a conversation.”

He believes Facebook is becoming more like an Internet portal for many people — one that they don't want to leave for other parts of the web.

As well as food and drink, Tora has a sub-specialisation in trains, having advised most of the rail companies on improving customer satisfaction.

It has also worked with universities, including Oxford and Oxford Brookes, on how much they can increase tuition fees before meeting consumer resistance.

Name: The Oxford Research Agency Established: 1982 Chief executive: Chris Sinclair Number of staff: 60 Annual turnover: Confidential

Contact: 01865 728272 Web: www.tora.co.uk