London based FitTech startup to expand following acquisition by “leading” retailer

Health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett has announced the acquisition of London based FitTech startup Avie as part of its strategy to extend its reach beyond retail through the creation of personalised wellness solutions.

Co-founded by Charlie Leggate and Kit Logan, and backed by Entrepreneur First, Avie uses health and activity data and behavioural science to help users achieve their health and wellness goals. In a personalised, supportive and achievable way, Avie embeds long-term lifestyle change.

Kit founded and developed multiple award-winning mobile apps from the age of 14. His previous product work has been recognised in Apple’s 20 under 20, The Times and The Evening Standard.

Charlie, previously a strategy consultant, is an experienced consumer tech founder having grown online communities of over 450k. He was recently recognised as a Sports Industry NextGen 30 under 30.

As part of the acquisition, Charlie and Kit will join the H&B Wellness Futures Team to build Avie’s technology into Holland & Barrett’s digital services and solutions.

Tamara Rajah, chief business & science officer, Holland & Barrett, commented: ““We want to become a trusted partner to help people achieve their health and wellness goals, and to do that we want to offer simple ways to test, track and improve your health, built on our 150 years’ experience in health and nutrition.

“Avie’s simple nudges based on biometrics have shown real promise in helping its users to improve their lifestyles and we are looking forward to working with Charlie and Kit to integrate this into our wider services and solutions.”

Charlie said: “Many people who want to be healthier constantly try to make positive changes, but the FitTech market is not accessible to all. We take a fresh approach by combining years of recorded health and fitness data with the details of a user’s lifestyle to create an entirely personalised experience.”

Kit added: “Avie finds the easiest changes for each user, delivered via actionable insights, timely nudges and realistic advice.

“We’ve found a great home for our product at Holland & Barrett, a business with a real mission to make health and wellness a way of life for everyone, and we’re looking forward to working with the team to develop our thinking even further.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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