TREND OF 2021: CONNECTION

Building community with Peanut

Honest conversation about motherhood, menopause and beyond.

Peanut App: Find Mum Friends

Fertility Pregnancy Motherhood

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Peanut is our 2021 Trend of the Year Winner because... it connected women at all stages of life, and made that connection even more personal.

‣ Percentage increase in daily active Peanut users from April to September of this year: 217
‣ Average number of friendships people form in their first week on the app: 4
‣ Number of badges you can earn for being kind to others: 13

“What would a social media app look like if its primary purpose was to encourage us to care for each other?” asked Peanut founder Michelle Kennedy. Four years ago, that question led her to create a platform for expectant and current mothers and those trying to conceive.

In 2014, while Kennedy was expecting her first child and craving connection with other moms, the idea for Peanut was born. (The app’s name is the moniker she gave her first son after being told he was the size of a peanut during an ultrasound appointment.)

The app’s Pods are a place to talk live with other members of the community about topics that matter to you.

As an inaugural board member of Bumble (another App Store Award winner), Kennedy understands the power of growing an online community; this year Peanut expanded its reach by introducing support for menopause – a phase of life that touches all women.

Kennedy believes frank and honest conversations about menopause normalise the experience. “Women have these seismic life stages and need mentors and peers to help guide us,” she says. “By 2025, a billion women will be in menopause, yet little exists for them.”

Kennedy is seeing a shift in how people talk about loss too. “Women are more likely to say ‘I’ve just had a miscarriage’ than they used to be, and we need to get to the same mindset with menopause.”

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Peanut’s Groups have always been a way for women to chat over text about topics that matter. This past April, the app introduced a new social audio feature, called Pods, where anyone can create a live audio conversation about whatever topic they choose and invite others to join in.

While Pods led by experts on pregnancy, breastfeeding, relationships and self-care typically find the biggest audience, magic happens in more intimate, user-generated conversations.

We wanted to build a safe space to talk about any life stage, where women can learn from each other and prepare themselves.

– Michelle Kennedy, Peanut founder and CEO

“As soon as you put women in a safe space, they talk about everything – their financial wellbeing, relationships, sex lives, body insecurity,” says Kennedy. “They talk prolifically. And there’s something so humanising about hearing a real person’s voice. For me that’s the most exciting thing.”

The average Pod user spends an hour in the app each day. “When we launched Pods, there was one with a woman who was leaving a bad relationship,” Kennedy recalls. To show their support, the other women in that Pod stayed on with her for five days straight. “We thought we had a bug, but they were sleeping with the Pod open. They were just there.”

The same could be said of Peanut itself. By being there for its community, its community can be there for one another. “It’s just about empathy,” says Kennedy. “Care and collaboration lead to strong, meaningful connections, and that's what we care about.”

2021 App Store Award winners