Brands
Love meets lunges: Puma, Bumble and Hyrox launch singles event
Valentine’s Day workout-meets-dating format for India’s sporty singles
BENGALURU: This Valentine’s Day, love may begin with lunges. Sports brand Puma India has teamed up with dating app Bumble and global fitness race Hyrox to launch a new singles-only fitness event that blends sweat, sport and socialising into one lively format.
The one-day experience will be held on 14 February at Phoenix Marketcity in Bengaluru, bringing together singles aged 21 to 35 for a beginner-friendly Hyrox challenge, followed by a social mixer. The idea is simple: work out first, warm up the conversation later.
Participants will take on a specially designed mini Hyrox course featuring short runs and functional workout stations. The format is meant to be accessible, inclusive and fun, even for those who are new to structured fitness events. The venue will double up as a social playground, where post-workout chats are as important as the finish line.
The collaboration builds on the Puma and Bumble partnership in India that began in 2024, which has focused on creating community-led sporting experiences. By bringing Hyrox into the mix, the brands aim to tap into a growing culture of fitness-driven social connections among young Indians.
For Puma India, the initiative fits neatly into its playbook of using sport as a cultural connector. The brand says Hyrox participation in India has been growing rapidly, with event entries doubling from one race to the next.
Bumble’s internal research also points to a shift in dating habits. Nearly half of singles in India now look for fitness or wellness activities as part of their dating lives, and most say sporty first dates feel more natural and less pressured.
Puma India head of marketing Shreya Sachdev, said the event builds on the brand’s approach of creating culture-led platforms through sport. She added that the collaboration is designed to bring fun, fitness and “matching wavelengths” together in one space.
Bumble chief marketing officer Neela Pal, said people are increasingly looking for real-life connections built around shared interests, with fitness offering easy common ground. She noted that the partnership aims to help singles meet in a way that feels natural, confident and pressure-free.
Hyrox India country head Deepak Raj, said the sport’s appeal lies in its strong sense of community. He added that shared effort often proves to be the best ice-breaker, and the beginner-friendly format is meant to open the doors to a wider audience.
Puma is the official apparel and footwear partner for Hyrox races worldwide, and the two have been working together to grow the sport in India. Since 2024, Puma and Bumble have also hosted several running and fitness-led community events designed to spark social connections beyond the screen.
If this Valentine’s Day experiment works, the path to romance in India may increasingly begin on a running track rather than a dinner table.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
