In an exclusive chat, The Drum gets founder-chief exec Able Joseph to share the game plan of the seven-year-old challenger brand as it gets on its journey to create relevant dating solutions for the Indian consumer. May 23, 7 min read.
Listen to article 4 min. Dating in India is at an interesting cusp. Rapid urbanization coupled with large consumption of western programming by the younger population has meant many urban Indians are well acquainted with the concept of dating. And yet in India, the generation before millennials had never experienced classic old-school dating, so it is still a new phenomenon for a large universe. Another pain point in this space is establishing trust among female users. The cultural uniqueness makes India a complex market, even in categories such as love and dating.
The way love works in India is quite different from other parts of the world and aspects of family, culture and language are missing in the western concept of dating, he points out. Aisle completed seven years in , and has built a community of over 7 million members and a consistent position in the top three on revenue charts, shares Joseph. Indians have not been accustomed to dating for generations, and dating sites in India, like in many other parts of the world, are a new phenomenon.
Further in India, it is assumed that the flip side to casual dating is matrimony, whereas the consumer is looking for a solution that is somewhere in between. The concept of high-intent dating can be simply defined as dating with a specific goal of finding a long-term partner, according to Joseph. For most categories, the pandemic created a radical shift in the way the ecosystem functioned, and most faced a rather uncertain landscape. Due to the nature of the pandemic, meeting in person became an unsure offering, which also meant Aisle had to put an abrupt end to its new ventures such as Jalebi, which matched users to meet at curated restaurants, and Aisle IRL, an offline-focused speed-dating venture.
The brand did a pivot and saw merit in going regional and local, with its offerings focused on creating a personalized experience for different cultures and regions. Keeping in mind various cultural sentiments, Aisle decided to introduce two vernacular apps — Arike and Anbe — exclusively for Malayalam and Tamil-speaking audiences residing in and out of India.
