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Hinge and Headspace partner on pre-date meditations

Hinge in collaboration with Headspace, US & UK

US and UK – Dating platform Hinge and mindfulness service Headspace are teaming up as part of World Mental Health Day to create pre-date meditations.

Recognising that dating can be a particularly nerve-wracking experience – further heightened by the global pandemic – Hinge is the first dating app committing to improving the mental health of its community. The partnership is inspired by Hinge's research, which found that more than three in four Hinge users globally have felt nervous or anxious before a date. The meditations aim to help users to keep a clear mind and keep negative thoughts at bay.

‘At Hinge, we know taking care of your mental health and wellbeing is crucial to creating a meaningful connection, and over these past few months, singles have been feeling more anxious. We want our users to be calm and relaxed when connecting with each other, so it was a no-brainer to partner with Headspace to develop the first-ever meditations for daters,' explains Justin McLeod, founder and CEO of Hinge.

With people experiencing a crisis of closeness during Covid-19, dating and relationship services are innovating to improve the experience of Isolated Intimacy.

These planet-positive teas embrace circular systems

Kib, Ethiopia

Ethiopia – Kib is a new herbal tea brand that promotes circular systems and ways of growing that give back as much as they take.

Working with diversely sown ‘food forests’, Kib grows many of its own herbs in East Africa using regenerative methods for improved soil, plants and flavour. Avoiding large farming sites, the brand instead works with small plots of land that have been densely planted with crops that benefit one another. For example, herbs like lavender and tulsi attract pollinators to flowering crops, like avocados, while herbs like lemongrass and mint help naturally deter pests. This biodiversity also means the crops are more resilient to year-round farming.

‘We exist to create sustainable supply chains, farms and livelihoods with East African smallholder farmers. And our growing model is specifically tailored to suit the context of these small-scale growers,' says Jacie Jones, managing director of Kib.

By prioritising biodiversity as part of the farming process, this brand is making it easier for eaters to make better food choices.

Spotify Pumped soundtracks at-home fitness

Global – The streaming service is moving into the fitness space with its new personalised HIIT sessions, set to music selected by users.

Spotify Pumped is available to non-subscribers and allows people to create an exercise session based on their own preferences. Available on a dedicated website, the service allows consumers to select a workout that’s easy, intense or somewhere in the middle. After selecting their desired session duration – either seven, 14 or 21 minutes – users will be asked to pick one of four celebrity coaches familiar from popular Spotify podcasts.

Finally, users can choose their preferred music genre – everything from pop and electronic to R&B and hip hop – and receive a curated workout complete with animated visuals. Appealing to the increased demand for home workouts during the pandemic, Spotify is effectively fusing its existing offering with health and wellness content.

Many consumers are still feeling hesitant about returning to communal exercise spaces, so are instead welcoming new innovations and forms of entertainment for At-home Fitness.

Spotify Pumped, Global

Stat: Millennials prioritise home ownership amid Covid-19

Villa de Mûrir by Collective B, Seoul

The pandemic has made future home ownership a priority for US Millennials.

A survey by Morning Consult reveals how Covid-19 has affected views on home ownership among different generations. Millennials are the most likely to consider buying a house, with 28% of participants agreeing that Covid-19 has made them more interested in owning a home. Generation Z follows at 20%, while 19% of Generation X and only 9% of Baby Boomers say the same.

With many Millennials approaching 40, age is a likely factor in the generational discrepancies. Covid-19 has also left many working remotely, and with Generation Y making up the largest working generation in the US, according to Pew Research, their disposable income could now be used to buy a home.

As the global pandemic impacts generational spending behaviour, it is changing the financial priorities of Millennials.