Lumen Launches in Australia This Week

Over-50s dating app Lumen is set to enter Australia this week, following a successful first six months in the UK market.

CMO Charly Lester told 6PR Radio that around 3 million Australians over the age of 50 were looking for love (the figure is 7.5 million in the UK), and that the current crop of senior dating apps is failing to serve the 50-75 demographic.

Lumen now has 300,000 members worldwide, up from 150,000 last month according to CEO Antoine Argouges.

20,000 of these singles are based in Australia, says Lester, despite the platform only having soft launched in the country so far.

The startup made headlines over Christmas after a London Underground ad featuring 58-year-old model Paul Orchard, posing shirtless with his phone, was pulled by Transport for London’s advertising agent.

The campaign was debated on Good Morning Britain, with talkRADIO presenter Harriet Minter arguing that a “diverse range of bodies” should be represented in advertisements.

Another billboard promotion saw Lumen coin a new Welsh word, Credwchmewncariadarôlpumdegoherwyddeifodmorllawennawrfelybuerioed, which roughly translates to “believe in love after 50 because it’s as joyful now as it ever was”.

The app is backed to the tune of £3.5 million by Andrey Andreev, the billionaire founder of London-based Badoo.

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