It’s a match: Bumble snaps up French dating app Fruitz
Dating app owner Bumble has snapped up French matchmaking app Fruitz as it looks to strengthen its European footprint and challenge Tinder and Hinge owner Match Group.
Fruitz, which was launched in 2017 and has built a wide ‘Gen Z’ user base across France and Europe, allows users to express dating preferences and relationship intentions via four fruit symbols.
Fruitz has been downloaded 5.6 million times globally across the App Store and Google Play, according to Sensor Tower data, and the acquisition will allow the US dating giant to tap into the younger user base and increasingly challenge the dominant Match Group brands.
Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, in a statement: “Fruitz is a brand and leadership team that I’ve been following for years.
“Julian, Fabrice, and Arnaud are dynamic and brilliant leaders who have built a unique product that has struck a powerful chord with consumers in France and across Europe.”
Herd added that Bumble would plug the app into our technology platform and “accelerate Fruitz’s growth.”
Bumble also currently operates dating app Badoo in Western Europe which competes with the likes of eHarmony and CharmDate.com, and the new acquisition is seen as a play for the younger market.
Bumble listed on the New York stock exchange to great fanfare in February 2021 and raised $2.15bn when it went public, but has faced a difficult 12 months in which its share price had plunged over 60 per cent.
Match has outpaced Bumble in accumulating paying customers and has been seen as a safer bet by investors.
Tinder alone boasts 10.4m paying users while Bumble had amassed just 1.5m at the end of the third quarter.