Greenbook Future List Spotlight: Juana Merlo

Editor’s Note: The following interview features a 2025 Greenbook Future List honoree, Juana Merlo. The Greenbook Future List recognizes leadership, professional growth, personal integrity, passion, and excellence in the next generation of consumer insights and marketing professionals within the first 10 years of their careers.

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Juana Merlo, CEO and Founder of ShopApp, is redefining what’s possible in market research. From launching a research tech company at just 27 to leading regional collaborations on shopper behavior and nutrition labeling, she brings a powerful mix of entrepreneurial drive and industry vision.

In this interview, Juana reflects on the lessons she learned from her parents, the values that fuel her leadership, and her advice for aspiring professionals. With a passion for innovation, collaboration, and meaningful insights, she’s helping shape the future of the insights industry—both in Argentina and across Latin America.

Who is your career role model or source of inspiration?

My biggest role models are my parents. I grew up in a home where both of them were entrepreneurs, and from an early age, I witnessed both their successes and challenges. No matter the circumstances, they always pushed forward with passion, leadership, and, above all, resilience. They encouraged my brother and me to explore our interests, supporting us in every project we pursued—big or small.

Before founding ShopApp, I had the opportunity to work in their company, where they entrusted me with significant responsibilities from day one. That experience gave me space to learn, grow, and develop my own leadership skills. My mother, in particular, has been a powerful example. I was raised in a household where women played strong professional roles, something that wasn’t as common at the time. Seeing her work, lead, and create was always natural to me, shaping my own perspective on career and ambition.

From my parents, I learned that hard work pays off, that building a strong team is essential, and that resilience is key. Most importantly, they taught me to be passionate about what I do. And to this day, I continue learning from them.

Since starting your career in MRX, what would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment has been building a market research company at the age of 27 and working with leading companies such as Coca-Cola, Bimbo, AB InBev, and CCU.

While working in the commercial area of a consumer goods company during the pandemic, I realized there was a significant opportunity to provide faster and more cost-effective insights—especially in shopper research at the point of sale. Seeing this gap, I began developing a value proposition alongside three experienced professionals: two with extensive leadership backgrounds in consumer goods insights and a third who is an expert in research methodologies. Together, we built our consumer panel and developed a technology that enables us to collect and process data more efficiently.

One of the biggest challenges was establishing credibility and gaining the trust of companies. But through consistency, innovation, and a strong team, we gradually earned our place in the industry.

What advice do you have for folks hoping to start a career in insights?

Insights is an exciting and constantly evolving field, offering the opportunity to understand people, shape business strategies, and influence decision-making. For those looking to start a career in this industry, here are a few key pieces of advice:

Engage with the Community: Join industry associations, attend events, and connect with professionals from different backgrounds—those with more experience, those just starting out, and those working in different sectors or with different methodologies. These exchanges will broaden your perspective, help you learn faster, and open new opportunities.

Listen and Learn from Clients: Your clients are experts in their industry and their brands. A successful insights professional knows how to combine that deep industry knowledge with consumer perspectives to create meaningful, actionable insights. Keep an open mind and focus on collaboration rather than just delivering data.

Stay Open to New Methodologies and Technologies: The insights industry is constantly evolving, with new tools, techniques, and technologies emerging all the time. Being adaptable and continuously learning will keep you ahead of the curve and make you a valuable asset in any research team.

Starting a career in insights requires curiosity, adaptability, and a strong willingness to listen—both to consumers and to the businesses you work with. Stay open, stay engaged, and never stop learning.

Tell us about any advocacy/volunteer/association work you're doing within the industry. What issues are you trying to solve? Why is this work critical for the industry?

Beyond being a member of SAIMO, Argentina’s association for insights and marketing professionals, I have been actively involved in various initiatives aimed at advancing shopper knowledge. For over a year, I’ve been part of the Observatorio Shopper, where we develop content, host webinars, and conduct studies to deepen our understanding of shopper behavior. Currently, we’re leading a regional study in collaboration with associations from Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico to explore a critical topic: nutrition and the impact of front-of-pack labeling regulations. Beyond generating valuable insights, this initiative fosters cross-country collaboration and learning among industry professionals.

I am also involved in SAIMO Joven, an initiative within SAIMO dedicated to fostering collaboration among young professionals and developing tools to support those entering the industry.

Additionally, for the past year, I have been working with the research center at Universidad Austral, where we are building a Knowledge Center (in collaboration with SAIMO) to centralize and showcase publicly available market research conducted by agencies, independent researchers, universities, and more. We are also developing new studies that will be shared openly with the community.

Finally, through ShopApp, we actively collaborate with industry associations. One of our current projects is a study on self-service stores and shopper behavior within them, conducted in partnership with FASA CAS, Argentina’s self-service store association.

These initiatives are essential because they promote knowledge-sharing, industry growth, and collaboration across markets. By working together, we can generate better insights, drive innovation, and ultimately help businesses and professionals make more informed decisions.

What trends do you see making headway on the horizon of insights? What trends do you think will falter in years to come?

The insights industry is at a turning point, where technology is becoming a key driver of efficiency and innovation. In the coming years, we will see more advanced implementations of AI, automation, and new research methodologies. To stay ahead, we must embrace these advancements—not as replacements for human expertise, but as tools to enhance our work, streamline processes, and uncover deeper insights faster and more cost-effectively.

One of the biggest opportunities lies in leveraging AI and big data analytics to unlock the full potential of the vast amount of data companies already have but are not fully utilizing. The challenge is not just collecting more data, but knowing how to extract meaningful insights from it. AI-powered analysis, predictive modeling, and machine learning-driven segmentation will play a crucial role in transforming raw data into actionable intelligence.

At the same time, we must remain focused on the core principles of insights: understanding client needs, listening to consumers, and co-creating solutions with businesses. The most successful innovations will be those that balance technological advancements with human expertise, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of consumer behavior.

The future of insights will be shaped by those who can blend technology, creativity, and business acumen—using innovation not just for the sake of it, but to truly enhance our ability to understand and anticipate consumer behavior.