The client has not been named but Asia Pacific CEO Chris Riquier (pictured) said the study would explore “consumption habits, key purchase occasions and the dynamics of food and beverage categories”.

Meanwhile, TNS Indochina director Ralf Matthaes said Myanmar, also known as Burma, had all the key ingredients of an emerging consumer economy – “a young population of 54m, GDP growth of 5.5% and an unexpected large proportion of high net value consumers in the major urban centres”.

He also noted that “many major FMCG brands are visible” on the store shelves and in the markets of the former capital Yangon, yet these “have yet to truly take hold due to a lack of consumer connection, distribution and marketing support,” said Matthaes.

Myanmar had faced tough economic sanctions for more than two decades after the ruling military junta refused to honour the results of democratic elections held in 1990. General elections took place under a new constitution in 2010 and since then the country has embarked on a series of reforms which led to last month’s easing of sanctions.