Peanut: the new app connecting new mums

Peanut is a brilliant new app aiming to connect local mums looking for help, support or just a friendly wave

Words Holly Kirkwood

Loneliness is definitely something all new mums have experienced, and despite the fact that our smartphones have increasingly connected us to the internet, and to social media via Facebook and Instagram, sometimes these social channels can make us feel worse rather than better.

Becoming a mum for the first time is challenging enough, without constantly measuring yourself against the perfect Insta-mums you see looking beautiful, stylish and having it all. The fact is, despite the fact we’re online all the time, some os us feel more isolated than ever, and nothing is more isolating than learning to negotiate motherhood on your own.

This was just the experience of Peanut Founder Michelle Kennedy, and her time with new little boy Finn (now three) led her to develop a new app especially for mums, which aims to women in the same area who might feel in need of company, support or just a wave.

Michelle has experience in the field, and had already spent six years at online dating company Badoo and was instrumental in the creation of dating app, Bumble. Peanut’s other co-founder Greg Orlowski previously worked as Deliveroo co-founder and former CTO.

Having worked on dating apps, and knowing how familiar new mums will be with the mechanisms, Peanut works on the same principles. The app uses a swiping mechanism to connect potential friends just like Tinder – a swipe up will give the other mum a wave, and a swipe down lets you skip their profile. The aim is to connect women with shared interests, outlooks, or with children the same age, for those looking for playdates.

Users can sign up, swipe away merrily, and get straight into chat, group chat or meet ups. The interface is so easy to use, feels friendly, and everything can be done with one hand; perfect for when you’ve got a little bundle of joy in the other. It’s free to use, and already has 400,000 users in London after just 10 weeks, with other mums around the world keep to give it a try.

It does seem like time there was an app for mums, rather than just online forums to search in the middle of the night when you’re feeding and the rest of the world is asleep, and Peanut seems the perfect way to find company on the level you need it, whether it’s a quick hello, an in-depth chat about purees, or a real-life playdate mate.