With restaurants and bars reopened, dating doesn't have to be done just virtually anymore. You can actually meet a real person face-to-face again.
Expecting such venues to be the preferred option, female-oriented dating app Bumble(NASDAQ: BMBL) is opening its own restaurant to facilitate meetups. Bumble Brew will offer 'the convenience of a casual all-day cafe by day with the ambiance of an intimate restaurant and wine bar at night.' It will open its doors in New York City on July 24.
Investors, though, might wonder: What's a dating app doing running a restaurant?
Bumble is the dating app based on respect, equality and inclusion. We offer our users the possibility to meet people in different fields with our three modes, Date, Bff and Bizz. We’re the first app that combines the possibility to date, flirt or find love, meet new friends and make professional connections in one social network. Bumble was first founded to challenge the antiquated rules of dating. Now, Bumble empowers users to connect with confidence whether dating, networking, or meeting friends online. We’ve made it not only necessary but acceptable for women to make the first move, shaking up outdated gender norms.
Creating unique experiences
There's a certain sense to the project. Because Bumble is a female-focused brand where it's up to women to make contact first with a potential partner, a branded cafe could offer women a greater sense of security and safety in meeting with someone new.
Popular Searches
Bumble has some experience with this sort of thing. A few years ago it launched Bumble Hive, a series of pop-up spaces in cities like New York, London, and Los Angeles where guests received complimentary entertainment, drinks, and snacks while participating in a live seminar.
Bumble Brew was originally supposed to open in 2019 and offer 'date-friendly' food, meaning you wouldn't make a mess of yourself while eating. That concept was postponed and the menu was eventually reimagined under the tutelage of Delicious Hospitality Group, the operator of several intimate cafes in New York's upscale neighborhoods of SoHo, Nolita ('northern Little Italy'), and Hudson Yards. Bumble Brew will now serve Italian food. Mangia!
Not the buzz it expected to generate
Bumble, though, has been struggling as a publicly traded company. Despite shares currently trading some 26% above their February initial public offering price, the stock opened at $76 per share that day. This means that initial investors have lost 28% since first buying in.
It reported first-quarter earnings of $1.69 per share on revenue of $171 million compared to Wall Street's expectations of $165 million in revenue generating a net loss of $0.03 per share.
Even on an adjusted basis, Bumble was doing much better than forecast, but analysts weren't moved by the beat or by its rosy outlook for the current quarter and the full year. Bumble and its Badoo sister brand didn't move the needle nearly as much as they should have, and valuation remains a concern.
Bumble regained a lot of the ground lost after its tumble, which means its valuation isn't much better than it was. The stock trades at nosebleed levels compared to future earnings expectations (not unheard of for a company transitioning from losses to profits), and also at more than 10 times sales, and it still isn't producing any free cash flow yet, which opening a restaurant likely won't help.
Staying in its lane
The restaurant itself shouldn't be a deal breaker for investors, since it's just a single location. The risk, of course, comes if Bumble decides to scale up its culinary ambitions and run a chain of cafes.
Bumble at its heart is a tech stock, which is a very different from a restaurant chain. Similar concerns arose when rival Match Group launched a video miniseries for its Tinder service.
At least with Bumble Brew, the situation is more like that of mall operator Simon Property Group acquiring bankrupt retailers, but handing off operations to brand management firm Authentic Brands Group, because running a retail store is not the same as owning a mall.
It's smart that Bumble is partnering with a company that specializes in creating unique dining experiences, though replicating them is not easy; Delicious Hospitality has built only a handful of locations.
Bumble could still sting
Investing legend Peter Lynch had a term for when companies pursue dreams far afield from their circle of competence. He called it 'deworsification,' meaning the business is not diversifying to build strength but is instead engaging in empire building, a pursuit that could bring the whole enterprise down.
Bumble hasn't entered diworsification territory yet, but investors should keep an eye on whether it tries to roll out this concept to more locations or if it goes off on other tangents, undertaking projects that have little to do with its core virtual matchmaking business.
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A swipe for every occasion
Bumble simplifies the online dating and networking scene. You’ll find options to find your significant other, make new friends, or connect with a new business opportunity.
Date or make friends
Bumble is the app for making friends, finding a date, and networking in a swiping fashion, similar to Tinder.
Online dating can be a difficult process, swiping constantly but matching with no one. While Bumble can’t guarantee you a match, it offers another platform to find your special partner as well as friends and business contacts.
Bumble Date uses a unique feature. Once you match with someone, you may not be able to start chatting immediately. On a match, the ladies have to start a conversation. The app is known for this as it gives a sense of empowerment to the women who use it, as well as relieving the men of the tension or jitters they might usually experience.
If a conversation doesn’t start within 24 hours, Bumble cancels the match. However, it can be extended (only once) for another 24 hours. This is done to keep your match list fresh and unsullied with fake or spam accounts.
Bumble, unlike other similar apps, has a verification step that you can do. This shows that you really are who you say you are to other people. All you need to do is send a picture that’s recreating the shown gesture. It’s simple and offers peace of mind to anyone else using the platform.
Free Dating Apps
The app has 3 sections. There’s Date, BFF, and Bizz. Each area has its own purpose: Dating, making friends, or building business connections. You can set up a profile for each of these, which presents a good option for users. You won’t have to cross connections between profiles.
Where can you run this program?
Bumble is available for Android 5.0 and up as well as IOS 12.0 and later.
Is there a better alternative?
Bubble Dating Sites
Yes. While Bumble is a multi-purpose application, it isn’t as popular as competitor apps. Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps around. As such, it has far more users and a higher chance that you’ll meet someone special.
Our take
Bumble is a great app that takes the pressure off guys, requiring women to message first and start the conversation. This could lead to disappointment, though, if your matches don’t message you. However, it gives more power to the ladies while taking a load off the men’s shoulders.
Should you download it?
Yes. If you’re single and ready to mingle or want to make some new friends, then this app is a must-have.
Highs
- Unique female-first chat
- Verify your profile
- Browse various sections
Is Bumble A Safe Dating Site
Bumblefor Android
Bumble Bee Dating Site Download App
5.225.2