Bumble Plans Autumn Launch in India

In an interview with Marie Claire this week, Whitney Wolfe Herd shared a number of details about how the Bumble brand will evolve in 2018.

One of the points noted by journalist Daphne Beal was that Bumble will launch in India this autumn.

The platform is already live in most English and Spanish-speaking markets, as well as in European geographies including Germany.

India presents a new challenge – Bumble’s feminist stance is likely to face opposition from powerful conservative factions in the country.

This has already been the case with Facebook Dating, which has been perceived by some to threaten traditional Hindu culture.

Surender Jain, general secretary of right-leaning Hindu organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), told BuzzFeed News: “Too many young Indians are already aping the West.

“It is a matter of great concern to us that American companies like Facebook are now openly encouraging these things in India.”

The emerging market holds massive potential, however, with rapid internet uptake impacting an enormous population.

Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group, says of the space: “In India, any place where there is a high density of educated, smartphone-carrying people, those people are more open to forgo arranged marriage. This is where we focus our efforts.”

The country has also began to liberalise with respect to LGBTQ relationships. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage.

Judge DY Chandrach said of the ruling: “[the state has] no right to control the private lives of LGBT community members…the denial of the right to sexual orientation [is] the same as denying the right to privacy.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Whitney Wolfe Herd outlined plans for Bumble to bring out skincare products. She also described a campaign to criminalise the unsolicited sending of lewd images online.

Read more here.