Dubai, UAE: Meditation-based mental wellness startup, Mindhouse, has announced its launch in the UAE. Founded by Zomato co-founder Pankaj Chaddah and ex-Zomato Chief of Staff Pooja Khanna, the company aims to improve the mental health of its users through app-based meditation & yoga courses that help increase productivity, improve sleep patterns and reduce stress & anxiety.

Mindhouse has launched in the UAE with an initial focus on the consumer (Business-to-Consumer) market, via an exclusive partnership with Emirates NBD, offering 3 months complimentary access to the bank’s card customers, starting 20th September. In addition to other partnerships with large consumer brands to fuel B2C growth, the company also foresees strong potential for growth on the B2B front. It plans to undertake multiple corporate tie-ups in the coming months, to offer access to the app and bespoke wellness packages to large organisations based in the UAE.

Stress and mental health are major causes for concern in the UAE. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UAE has the highest regional level of depression, at 5.1 per cent of the population. The country also ranks high for anxiety, with 4.1 per cent of people admitting to a problem. Seven out of ten people in the UAE have expressed their openness to seek help for their mental health issues, according to a survey carried out by YouGov for Dubai Health Authority in 2019.

The start-up enters the region at a time when COVID-19 pandemic has worsened mental health of consumers suffering from health issues, disorders, anxiety, stress, job-loss, loss in income and business.

The Mindhouse app functions like an online studio, providing meditation, breath work and yoga content in the form of scheduled live classes and a vast library of modules that can be consumed anytime by the user. Built for beginners and advanced meditators alike, the app recommends content based on the user’s selected goals from sleep, patience, focus, relaxed mind and relaxed body, and their past experience in meditation.

The app allows the user to chat with the instructor for recommendations and queries, and also tracks daily progress against set goals. It works on a subscription model, with a quarterly plan priced at Dh60, and annual plan at Dh120. Given the current circumstances, the company offers a 1-month free subscription to all its new users.

Pooja Khanna, Co-founder, Mindhouse, said, “Mental health has come to the forefront with the on-going COVID-19 crisis, and the entire space has seen a surge in demand – both on the consumer and corporate fronts. This has enabled us to quickly scale up our operations, with over 100,000 downloads of the app, and 600+ corporate tie ups already established in India.

“Following our successful launch in India, we have now decided to expand globally, with the UAE as our first international launch. We believe there is a strong need for a mental wellness solution like ours currently and are very excited to enter the market.”

Pankaj Chaddah, Co-Founder, Mindhouse, said, “With a population of over 9 million people, and high awareness of mind-body wellness solutions coupled with high disposable income, we see tremendous potential in the UAE market. We estimate that 60-70 percent of the population will adopt digital wellness products and services, which makes the UAE an obvious destination of choice for us.”