Brief:

• Weight Watchers, which this week rebranded as WW to reflect a commitment to wellness and well-being, updated its mobile app and launched a wellness rewards program. The updated WW app will be available Oct. 4 as part of the company's roll-out of its new brand identity, per Digiday.
• The app will have a revamped version of the company's FitPoints system that encourages activity choices based on an individual's health and wellness. FitPoints will now be personalized within the app so members know the value of different activities. The app will also urge communication with other members through WW's new Connect Groups feature, which resembles Instagram. Members will be able to connect with others based on categories like food choices, life stages, mindset or hobbies.
• The app will also feature WW's new rewards program, WellnessWins. The program rewards members for healthy habits. Members will earn "Wins" for tracking meals, activity and weight, as well as for attending WW meetings. End-users can redeem the points for exclusive products, services and experiences.

Insight:

While the company introduced an app in 2012 to help users track food choices on the go, manage their environment and support long-term behavior changes, WW's refresh modernizes it to current consumer trends to include personalization and social features. That app complemented its Barcode Scanner app, introduced a year earlier, that let users scan food labels to see an instant readout of key data. 

WW's revised app is a major part of the company's renewed focus on holistic health for its 4.5 million subscribers, whose subscription fees are reportedly responsible for 80% of its revenue. The company plans to roll out a meal kit service later this year, emulating companies like Blue Apron that provide fresh ingredients and step-by-step instructions on how to prepare food. WW is also working with a third-party food logistics provider and partnering with mental health app Headspace to offer provide customized meditation and mindfulness exercises, Digiday reported.

Mobile devices are partly blamed for the steady rise in obesity levels among U.S. adults, but WW is using mobile technology to urge people to exercise more and make healthier food choices. The negative effects of mobile devices on people's physical and mental health have captured the attention of Silicon Valley in the past few years. Apple this month updated its mobile operating system with a feature that helps iOS users track their screen time to help them manage their device usage, as one example.