01 Dec 2016
Arianna Huffington launches Thrive Global wellness venture
BY Tom Walker
Huffington Post founder, Arianna Huffington, has launched a new media business focused on wellness.
Called Thrive Global, the new venture aims to offer corporations and individuals “science-based solutions” in order to tackle stress and burnout while enhancing wellbeing and productivity.
Based in New York, US, the company will provide three main services: corporate training sessions with leading partners; a media platform designed to be “the global hub for the conversation about wellbeing and productivity”; and an e-commerce platform offering technology and wellbeing products.
"We are at an inflection point in history where technology has granted us powers that accelerate the speed of life beyond our capacity to cope," Huffington said.
"Thrive Global is born in response to this need to take control of our lives and offer new strategies and tools, based on the latest science, to address the unintended consequences of these profound and invasive changes."
She added that the company has already secured a number of major partner companies for its corporate wellness services.
In India, Thrive Global is partnering with The Times Group, India's largest media company, to enter the Indian market, scale its business and “advance its mission”.
In Italy, it is launching in partnership with publishing giant Gruppo Espresso’s digital division.
The company has also signed a partnership deal with South Africa-based insurer Discovery, which will allow Thrive Global access a number of markets through Discovery’s global insurance partners and corporate clients – including in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, the UK and the US.
The company is also partnering with fitness tracker Fitbit to offer Thrive Global clients Fitbit’s corporate wellness experience, which provides a custom company storefront, Fitbit activity trackers, a programme dashboard and engaging corporate challenges to help companies promote employee well-being.
Other partnership deals have also been confirmed with Accenture, Airbnb, Glassdoor, JPMorgan Chase, SAP and Uber.
Meanwhile, the “second pillar” of the business – the media platform – will feature original video content, expert commentary and community contributions.
As well as offering consumers the tools to “deliver dramatic results” in their personal wellbeing, the platform will also function as a sustainability arm for all corporate trainings. It will be continuously updated with new features, such as social and peer networks called Thrive Tribes, which is set to launch in early 2017.
The third service – Thrive Global's commerce platform – will offer a curated selection of wellness technology and products, including newly developed Thrive products.
Thrive Global recently launched its signature product, The Phone Bed, which is being marketed as the world's “first family bed for devices”. The charging station, which charges up to ten devices at a time, is designed to help the whole family get a better night's sleep by putting all devices to bed outside the bedroom.
In addition to the e-commerce site (shop.thriveglobal.com), the company has also launched a retail pop-up store in New York City. The 5,000sq ft (465sq m) Thrive Global store, in the city’s trendy SoHo district, will offer live demonstrations, educational sessions and trials of the latest products and technologies across the categories of mind, body, sleep, productivity, recharging, creativity, and giving.
One of the wellness experts to take part in a live-streamed conversation will be Dr. Howard Murad, the founder of clinical skincare brand Murad, who will offer his knowledge on the power of a holistic, whole-person approach to health and beauty.
“Thrive Global's mission is to end the epidemic of stress and burnout by offering companies and individuals sustainable, science-based solutions to enhance both well-being and performance,” Huffington added.
“Together, the three components create an integrated platform that empowers people to make sustainable changes to their daily lives, going from knowing what to do to actually doing it.”
To find out more about Thrive Global, click here for the company website.
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