About Us

Black Raspberry Consumer Insights is a qualitative research firm which specializes in the African American consumer market. We are a MBE/WBE certified corporation.

Black Raspberry was founded by Dr. Patricia D. Raspberry in 2005. A seasoned professional with over ten years of experience in the fields of advertising and market research, Raspberry has established herself as one of the preeminent African American consumer researchers in the country. Prior to establishing Black Raspberry, Patricia spent five years as Senior Planner and Director of Urban Insights for PortiCo Research. While at PortiCo, Patricia managed  projects for a wide array of clients targeting both general market and African American consumers.  Before joining PortiCo, she was a Senior Account Planner at FCB Chicago, served as Strategic Planner at the former Lowe & Partners/SMS/New York and worked as a Senior Consumer Analyst with Grey Advertising/New York.

A summa cum laude graduate of Hampton University, Chicago-based Raspberry holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan. In addition to her graduate work and extensive professional experience, Patricia has also received rigorous instruction in focus group moderation and in-depth qualitative interviewing at the RIVA Training Institute,
in Washington, DC.

"I’ve always been an inquisitive person. My mother likes to tell the story about me at age 8, going with my parents to visit our neighbors. As we were standing at the front door saying our goodbyes, I ventured over to a pile of mail on the table beside the door to see if anything interesting had arrived. Observing me rifling through their personal effects, the neighbor asked, “Patricia, are you expecting mail here?” My mother was mortified. But I was just doing what came naturally. Decades later (it is irrelevant just how many!) I am still just as inquisitive. But now, rather than snooping through people’s mail, I explore people’s lives---asking questions, making observations and looking for insights in order to help companies better understand and connect with their consumers."