The company says it is on course for growth again in 2010. Revenue for the first three months of this year is £899,000, a rise of 20% on the previous quarter.

Looked at year-on-year, Q1 sales are down 16% – but that’s against a record quarter last year, says a company spokesman, and does not paint a true picture of the company’s expected performance for the full year.

Managing director Alistair Leathwood said: “In spite of the harsh economic environment, 2009 was a year of solid growth for FreshMinds as we continued to demonstrate the value that our research adds to our clients’ businesses.

“There are encouraging signs that 2010 is set to be another record breaking year for FreshMinds – the pipeline is stronger than ever at this stage of the year and we are seeing very high levels of activity in all sectors.”

Leathwood says the company will continue to build on its work in social media research, with a particular emphasis on market research online communities and social media listening.