SINGAPORE — They say you either love it or hate it, but for singles in Singapore it turns out having an attraction or aversion to durian could help you make a romantic connection.
Bumble, the women-first dating and social networking app, is helping Singaporeans get ready for durian season with a new suite of durian Interest Badges, Question and Profile Prompts designed to highlight one’s love (or distaste) of the spiky, sweet fruit to potential matches. Until 30 June, the Bumble community in Singapore can select from two durian-related Question Games including, “Durian: love it or hate it?” and “How would you describe durian to someone who has never had it,” and Profile Prompt, “My strong opinion about durian is that…,”.
Members who like durians can also swipe to view the in-app promo card and click “Add Badge” to add to their profiles a limited edition “Durian Lover” interest badge to show potential matches their fondness for the fruit.
These new features align with the dating (and durian!) needs of Gen Z and Millennial Singaporeans. A Bumble nationwide survey* found that more than one in two (54%) Singaporeans are likely to consume durian this year, one in five (20%) of whom expect to be eating durian with a date.
The research also highlighted a number of insights to help singles find relationships that en-durian the test of time:
- Almost a quarter of respondents (24%) agree that eating durian with a romantic partner makes for great dates.
- One in three durian lovers (29%) (i.e. someone who is excited about durian season) said it would be a dealbreaker if someone they were romantically interested in did not like durian. However, most Singaporeans who don’t love durian (94%) (i.e. someone who is not excited about durian season) would not consider a love of durians a dating dealbreaker.
- Durian lovers are almost twice as likely (20%) to actively look for a romantic partner who shares similar interests in food before deciding whether they want to further explore a connection, as compared to people who are durian agnostic (11%) and haters (11%).
- 17% of durian lovers will bring someone they are interested in romantically to eat durian as a first date. In fact, 15% of durian lovers have actually had a durian date before.
“Our findings in Singapore reflect the palpable passion for food that locals hold dear,” said Lucille McCart, APAC Communications Director of Bumble. “Food is such an important part of dating and romance, in fact it is said that eating great food releases similar brain chemicals as feelings of love. Whether you are a durian lover or not, we want to help you find your perfect match this durian season on Bumble. Shared interests are a crucial part of relationship compatibility, so our new durian themed product features are one way to find a match with the same taste as you!”
Bumble operates a freemium model and is available to download in the App Store and Google Play.
