Is food the secret ingredient to finding love? Here are some insights from Indian dating apps
The Hindu
Dating apps in India are evolving to prioritize culinary compatibility, with food interests playing a key role in matchmaking.
The online dating-scape is not easy to navigate. It is a challenge to find the right match based on a few photographs and a short bio. Users are hungry for deeper connections. Noticing this need, dating apps are introducing features that allow individuals to highlight their interests and lifestyle habits. And the top contender right now, to know if someone is compatible with you? Their food habits.
Is culinary compatibility the new dating metric?
Ria (name changed) is a 19-year-old who lives in New Delhi and uses popular dating apps, Bumble and Hinge. “Food has been an important part of my social life,” claims the young college-goer. “Being with someone who is open to exploring new cuisines and dishes can be a common ground that we can easily connect over.” Someone’s dietary habits can tell us a lot more about them, such as are they adventurous? Are they health conscious? So these pointers can be helpful in picking a date.
Food preferences in India have larger implications too. Vegetarianism can be a political and caste-based issue, and users are conscious of this. A Noida-based 19-year old shares, “I am hesitant about sharing that I am a non-vegetarian, mostly because of the intolerance that exists. I generally match with people who are agnostic or atheist, and liberal or left in ideology and I have found more tolerance among those groups.”
What does the data say?
Data shared by Indian dating apps has revealed that food is an important category. Tinder users can add up to five ‘Interests’ on their profiles. Popular food-related interests among Indian users are Maggi, sushi, biryani, street food, vegan cooking, baking and Korean food.
In a survey conducted by One Poll for the app, 94% of young singles in India agreed that being aligned on interest in food and restaurants is important with the person they are dating. (The survey was of 1,000 Indians between the ages of 18 to 25 across India in March-April 2022). Their internal data suggests that female users on Tinder find being vegan as one of the most attractive interests in a potential match.
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