French connected health firm Withings has acquired 8fit, a health, fitness and wellness app with more than 40 million downloads.

Available in six languages, German firm 8fit’s app provides workouts, customised meal plans and self-care guidance to users. Its capabilities can strengthen Withings’ strategy to develop personalised programmes that combine data with actionable insights to help users modify behaviour.

The company intends to invest more than $30m in the next three years to accelerate the development of personalised support. This news follows last month’s acquisition of Impeto Medical, a specialist in R&D, manufacturing and distribution of medical devices for physicians.

Both are part of Withings’ ongoing investment to improve health through data from connected health devices coupled with insightful expert advice based on behavioural science.

In the context of rising health concerns worldwide, users’ expectations and behaviour have shifted towards a need for more personalised support, through digital products such as health and wellbeing apps. Acquiring 8fit is the first step in Withings’ ambition to provide value-added support to users.

“In recent years, users have shown a growing need for solutions to help them regain control over their health,” said Mathieu Letombe, CEO of Withings. “Not only do people seek to understand their health by monitoring key health metrics, they also need to be supported, engaged and motivated throughout their journey to better health. We now feel it’s key to enter the era of the product-service-data, combining personal health data with personalised wellness plans, and further deliver on our mission to empower anyone to be healthier in the long run. With the acquisition of 8fit, we are well placed to deliver a strategy that combines elegantly designed health devices, enhanced health data and experienced advice that is simple to adopt and designed specifically for our customers.”

Withings is integrating 8fit into its health offering to strengthen personalised wellness capabilities Launched in 2014, 8fit promotes healthy lifestyles by providing personalised nutrition, physical activity and mindfulness programmes that address all aspects of its users’ health to help them achieve their goals.

The app offers thousands of supervised and customisable workouts such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT), boxing, pilates, yoga or meditation, and hundreds of balanced, healthy, and easy-to-prepare recipes.

“From the services we offer, it’s clear that Withings and 8fit are aligned to help users achieve their health goals,” said Lisette Fabian, CEO of 8fit. “We are excited to combine Withings’ expertise in connected health devices that collect accurate, quality data with our fitness and nutrition plans. Together, we will provide our users with a more holistic health offering to help them lead healthier, happier lives.”

Since introducing the worlds’ first connected scale in 2009, Withings has built a connected health ecosystem comprised of smart scales, blood pressure monitors, smartwatches, sleep monitors and thermometers. Its devices capture 20 vital health parameters such as blood pressure, ECG, weight, heart rate, activity levels and sleep patterns to help people achieve health goals and detect changes in their health status.

A move to pair personalised health insights with Withings’ health data was announced at CES 2022, with the unveiling of Body Scan, a health station with the ability to monitor segmental body composition, assess nerve activity and assess heart rhythm using a six-lead ECG. When launched later this year, Body Scan will also come with in-app access to personalised, holistic plans encompassing sleep, physical exercise, nutrition and stress reduction, as well as clinical specialists for those who require more support.

Based in Berlin with over 20 employees, 8fit has seen more than 40 million app downloads.