Andres Chehtman uses market research to understand consumer habits in South America
By Justin Walker
Andres Chehtman works every day to decipher consumer habits as a senior research analyst with Euromonitor International. Based out of Santiago, Chile, Chehtman oversees analysts from almost every South American country, collecting data and creating reports designed to help organizations and brands with strategic data, analysis and consumer trends. Analyzing company strategies is one of Chehtman’s favorites.
“It is interesting to study how economic, social and cultural trends affect businesses and consumer decisions, and how companies must evolve accordingly to grow or survive,” he said.
Chehtman became interested in strategy during his time at Baylor. After earning a bachelor’s in Business Administration and working in different marketing research positions, he decided to go back to school. Although he applied to several universities, Baylor stood out as the best fit.
“It was one of the best experiences of my life—going to Baylor,” he said. “I learned a lot and met people from all over the world. It is an experience that I consider a very good decision.”
While he worked on his MBA, Chehtman took courses on customer relationship management and negotiations, which opened several opportunities for him. One project allowed him to work with Baylor Athletics, identifying problem areas and suggesting options to improve. He also earned an internship with the American Heart Association in Dallas.
It was at Baylor where Chehtman realized how much he enjoyed analyzing marketing strategies. As his time in Waco was ending, he decided to look for work related to this area. He returned home to Argentina and began working as a marketing manager for a regional market research company and in parallel for the IAE Business School at Universidad Austral. Chehtman had the opportunity to cowrite business cases, some of which were published in Harvard Business Review.
Chehtman continued working in the marketing field. In 2008, a job opportunity with Telefónica, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, took him to Chile, and in 2013, he became a research associate with Euromonitor. One year later he became a research analyst and was promoted to senior research analyst in 2017. In this role, he has managed projects for 17 different industries across South America. His work enabled him to speak at events and forums in several countries, including Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica and Colombia. Since 2019, Chehtman has been responsible for syndicated research for the region’s food and nutrition industries. His current projects have shown some interesting trends, he said.
“Today, consumers eat snacks much more than before, anywhere and anytime, because of the busy lifestyle,” Chehtman said. “There are more eating occasions than before.”
Another important trend to mention is mindful eating, he said. People are consuming more natural and less processed food with a shorter ingredient list. Food provenance, functional food, plant-based eating alternative proteins, and sustainable eating, are some other trends that Chehtman is analyzing to help Fortune 500 companies with their marketing strategies and governments with their public policies and external trade plans.
It’s important to companies to have a view from outside of their markets because of how fast things can change, as well as the possibility of products or trends from other regions serving as inspiration, Chehtman said. He is passionate about his work and sees himself with Euromonitor for the foreseeable future.
“I enjoy what I’m doing now,” he said. “I would like to keep on growing within the company and to continue contributing to the success of the organization.”