The Insights Partner Built Around You

Senior thinking. Personal investment. A genuine partner for the long term. No junior teams, no account managers, no distance between us and the work.

Meet Carlos
Lemon
The Problem

The traditional agency model is costing you more than money.

💸

Overhead Before Insight

You fund account management, junior teams, and profit margins before any real thinking begins.

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Briefings That Don't Survive

Your context gets diluted across handoffs. The person who gets it isn't the one doing the work.

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No Memory. No Momentum.

Agencies don't carry knowledge of your brand between projects. You pay to restart the learning curve every time.

Carlos Hernandez
Meet the Founder

Carlos Hernandez

Founder, Lemon — Dare to Imagine

I started Lemon because I kept seeing the same problem: smart brands, doing expensive research, and still not really understanding their customers.

For more than 20 years I've worked inside organisations and I've learned that the best insight isn't the most sophisticated. It's the insight that sticks. That gets into the room. That changes how a team thinks on a Tuesday morning, not just at the annual strategy offsite.

At Lemon, you work directly with me. Senior thinking. Personal investment. A genuine partner for the long term.

Credentials

Why Lemon?

🏆

20+ Years of Experience

Agency and client-side at Nielsen, Kantar, Reckitt Benckiser, and Abbott Labs.

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Truly Global

Lived in the UK and Singapore for 25 years. Research conducted across 5 continents, with deep experience in Europe and Asia.

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Full-Spectrum

Quant and qual, applied to the question that actually needs answering.

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AI-Native

Actively using AI tools, agents, and AI moderators. Not a talking point — a working practice.

What I Do

Services

One consultant. Full-service capability. No overhead. Every project gets senior-level thinking from start to finish.

Unlock Brand Potential

Brand Health & Strategy

Understand what's working, what's not, and where to focus. From audits to KPIs to a clear path forward.

Brand AuditKPIsStrategic PlanningPath Forward
Brand Strategy
Unlock Growth

Concept & Comms Testing

Validate ideas early and optimise communication. From concept testing to co-creation, identify the drivers and barriers that matter.

Concept TestingCo-creationComms TestingDrivers & Barriers
Concept Testing
Understand Consumers

Qualitative Research

Uncover the behaviours, motivations, and unspoken truths behind how your customers really think and act.

InterviewsFocus GroupsUX Research
Qualitative Research
Build Capability & Activate

Insights Activation & Training

Make insight stick. From training your team to building AI-powered knowledge systems, dashboards, and interactive deliverables.

WorkshopsTrainingDashboardsAI Knowledge Systems
Insights Activation
Engagement Models

How We Work Together

Three ways to engage — all designed to give you senior-level thinking without the overhead. Pick what fits.

Project-Based Consulting

You have a specific question that needs a real answer. I work with you from the first brief to the final debrief — handling as much or as little as you need.

Some clients want to be closely involved. Others hand it over and want a clear recommendation at the end. Either works.

Good for: focused research, brand audits, innovation sprints.

Monthly Retainer

Ongoing support, on your terms. A set number of days per month — use them when you need them.

No fixed projects. No waiting for scope to be agreed. A senior partner available when insight is needed, whether that's a full research sprint or a single sharp conversation.

Minimum 3-month commitment. Flexible across months.

Fractional Insights Director

Not a consultant. An Insights Director. 1–3 days per week, 6–12 months. A fixed, senior presence — not a rotating cast of project teams.

Three things I own: the research agenda, your agency relationships, and your team's growing capability.

Senior leadership embedded inside your business, without the cost of a full-time hire.
Track Record

Case Studies

FMCG · New Product Launch

Large FMCG Multinational

Developed a launch strategy for a new coffee product among a younger audience, identifying key cultural barriers and drivers under a classical brand umbrella.

EuropeFMCGNew Product Launch
Beverage · Innovation

International Wine Brand

Developed a new label strategy to drive choice from young consumers in the USA. The finding: modern design grabs attention, but tradition builds trust.

USABeverageInnovation
Healthcare · Diagnostics

Healthcare Multinational

Brought TB, HIV and Respiratory patients across Africa and Asia closer to marketing teams at Abbott, helping develop faster and more precise diagnostic products.

AfricaAsiaHealthcare
FMCG · Asia Pacific

International Pasta Brand

Helped launch a new range of chilled meals in South Korea in partnership with a retailer, along with multiple studies on understanding Japanese consumers.

South KoreaJapanFMCG
Digital · UX Research

Online Entertainment Company

Improved the user experience of a major app through qualitative UX interviews, delivering a live view of how users interact and feel in the moment.

UKDigitalUX Research
Consumer Health · Comms

Consumer Health Company

Helped shift the perception of early pregnancy testing from purely clinical to a highly emotional moment of empowerment, enabling better positioning and communication.

GlobalConsumer HealthComms
Let's Talk

Let's find the right model for you.

Whether you're ready to start or just want to explore the possibilities, I'd love to understand your research challenges and show you what's possible.

✉
chernandezjr@lemon-insights.com
🌐
www.lemon-insights.com

Unlike Traditional Agencies

No overheads passed to you. No junior teams on your account. One expert, fully committed to your business outcomes.

Unlike Generic Freelancers

Not a one-project supplier. Lemon brings strategic depth, and the ability to embed into your organisation as a true partner.

Unlike Internal Hires

No recruitment risk, no notice periods. Senior expertise from day one, with the flexibility to scale to your real business needs.

The AI Advantage

An early adopter of AI tools and agents in research, delivering faster analysis, better moderation at scale, and more impactful insight activation.