Connected health tech company Withings has purchased Berlin-based 8fit, a personalized fitness and meal planning app.

The acquisition comes on the heels of another deal announced last month. Withings, based in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, acquired Impeto Medical, a French device company that makes a tool for monitoring peripheral neuropathies. That tech has already been incorporated into the company's latest smart scale, the Body Scan, which it plans to release in the second half of 2022. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Like the Impeto purchase, Withings plans to integrate 8fit into its offerings, with the goal of improving its capabilities to make personalized programs and suggestions for users. The health tech firm said it will invest more than $30 million over the next three years to develop this type of "personalized support" based on data from its devices.

"In recent years, users have shown a growing need for solutions to help them (re)gain control over their health. 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," Mathieu Letombe, CEO of Withings, said in a statement.

"We now feel it's key to enter the era of the 'product-service-data,' combining personal health data with personalized 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."

THE LARGER TREND

Many tech players are hoping to offer health insights and information based on their wearables and devices. In September, Amazon revealed its new wearable, the Halo View, plus a membership program that offers a personalized exercise regimen and meal planning. 

Garmin also recently added VO2 Max tracking capabilities to its line of Forerunner smartwatches, which can give runners insights into cardiovascular health. Its Forerunner 245 smartwatches include workout suggestions based on training history, fitness level and recovery time. 

Additionally, Gatorade pushed into the connected fitness space last year, launching a sweat-tracking wearable patch that offers personalized workout and recovery recommendations based on biomarkers like sweat and sodium loss, which are combined with external fitness and nutrition data.

Fitness-focused wearable company WHOOP also aims to make recommendations based on the data it collects. The company launched the latest version of its wearable, the WHOOP 4.0, and announced the acquisition of sports technology startup PUSH in September.