Ignis Hits the Streets
On a blazing hot Saturday in June, the Ignis team traded screen time for sunshine and hit the streets of London with one mission: spark real conversations about modern dating. Armed with our “Pick a Card and Answer 2 Questions” game, our team of seven — dressed in matching Ignis gear and contagious good vibes — spoke to more than 30 people from around the world.
What we heard? Honest stories, hilarious date fails, and a clear message:
people are tired of swiping.
They want connection, chemistry, and experiences.
Breaking the Ice with a Simple Game
Our “Pick a Card” game was simple but powerful. Each participant drew a card and answered two reflective questions about dating, connection, or first dates. From Tower Bridge to riverside parks, the Ignis game turned strangers into storytellers.
And the stories?
They were gold.
💬 What Londoners Told Us
Robert shared a first-date tale so wild it sounds scripted.
After one date, the woman asked him to change his religion — then introduced him to her father on the second.
He never saw her again. (Understandably.)
Bill shared that on his second girl with a girl they went to play bowling….her name on the screen? Queen Ass…You can imagine the final!
Jorge told us dating apps feel fake and disconnected.
People show off a version of themselves that crumbles in person. “You meet them, and it’s like... who are you?”
His frustration echoes what so many feel: digital dating often leads to real disappointment.
Jessica, visiting from Canada, admitted she browses dating apps when bored — but wants more than scrolling.
She lit up when talking about meeting someone over wine tasting or shared experiences, saying, “You get to see the real person. No filters. No bios. Just vibes.”
What We Learned: Shared Activities Beat Swipe Culture
Across age, gender, and background, a clear pattern emerged:
✅ People want to meet others through real-world experiences
✅ Wine tastings are seen as casual and social — great for serendipitous connections
✅ Cooking and cocktail mixology events were the top favorites for daters looking to break the ice and feel real chemistry
The conclusion?
First dates shouldn’t feel like interviews. They should feel like play.
Why This Matters for Ignis
This day wasn’t just a fun social experiment. It confirmed what we already know at Ignis:
the future of dating is experience-first.
We’re building a community that moves beyond profile pictures and texting.
One that believes in shared space, shared laughs, and shared stories.
From card games on the street to curated events that bring people together over food, wine, music, and creativity. Ignis is the spark that turns strangers into something more.
Our crew, mid-mission. Sun out. Smiles on.
This is what Ignis looks like in the real world and we’re just getting started.
✨ Want to Join the Movement?
If you're tired of swiping, tired of ghosting, and ready for real moments with real people...
Come to an Ignis event. Pick a card. Pour a drink.
Let’s change how dating feels together.
The Art of Modern Dating
The Art of Modern Dating
Let’s be honest dating today can feel like work.
Swipe. Match. Small talk. Ghost. Repeat.
The spark? It’s buried somewhere between a blue-light screen and another “wyd?” message.
There was a time when first dates meant something different.
Not a transaction but a memory waiting to happen.
So what if the answer to finding connection isn’t more apps, more speed, more noise
but actually… less?
🌿 Where Did the Magic Go?
We live in a world of constant distraction.
Notifications, unread messages, that quiet anxiety of always checking just in case.
But love doesn’t grow in distraction.
It needs attention, curiosity, shared laughter.
Even a little silence the good kind, the kind that feels full.
Psychologist Mihály Csikszentmihalyi called flow the rare state when you're fully immersed in the moment.
And you know what brings you there, surprisingly often?
Cooking.
🍳 First Dates, Reimagined
Cooking together might be one of the most overlooked and underrated first dates.
But it’s not really about the food.
It’s about what happens between the bites:
✨ Chopping side by side, brushing hands accidentally
✨ Laughing when the sauce goes everywhere
✨ Tasting something that needs “just a little more salt”✨ Creating something together no filters, no pressure
There’s no room for small talk when you’re flipping a pancake with someone cheering you on.
Cooking invites you to show up as you are apron-wrinkled, slightly flustered, beautifully human.
Some of my best friendships and my relationship with my future wife have started this way not in bars or chats, but beside a stove, laughing over too much garlic.
Dating apps taught us to filter ourselves into bite-sized versions.
But connection? It lives beyond the filters.
It happens when we:
Look up from our phones
Forget what we were going to say and laugh anyway
Share a messy moment and find someone smiling through it with us
💫 Not Perfect, Just Present
Maybe love doesn’t arrive with a curated playlist or the perfect icebreaker.
Maybe it shows up when you're stirring risotto, unsure of the recipe but loving the company.
Maybe the modern love story isn’t about perfection.
Maybe it’s just about being there.
🌹 Let’s Make First Dates Mean Something Again
If you’ve ever thought:
✅ “I’m tired of small talk.”
✅ “I want to feel something again.”
✅ “I miss the spark of doing something with someone…”
You’re not alone.
💬 Share With Us
Drop your ideas in the comments 👇
We’d love to hear about your most unforgettable first date or the one you’re still dreaming of.
Let’s fall in love differently one shared experience at a time
Swipe Left on Swipe Culture…
Let’s be honest dating apps have turned finding love into a game where most of us are playing, but nobody’s really winning.
You swipe left on someone decent just because of a gym selfie. You swipe right on someone attractive, only to be greeted with “yo.” That’s it. That’s the message. It's shallow, it’s exhausting, and it’s definitely not built for real connection.
Since Hinge launched back in 2012, the dating app world has exploded. Now we have Tinder, Bumble, and dozens of others each with its own gimmick, but still stuck in the same loop: upload your best pics (I’m terrible at this, by the way no six-pack abs here), write a quick bio, set your distance preferences, and swipe your life away.
Bumble puts women in charge of the first message but let’s be real, it’s still all about appearances. Tinder? It’s a chaotic mix of hookups, bots, scams, and the occasional lucky match. Hinge tries to be the thoughtful one with its prompts and conversation starters, but you’re still one awkward message away from being ghosted or blocked forever.
Just last week, I overheard a coworker complaining about Hinge. “You say one wrong thing,” she said, “and it’s over. You’re blocked. No explanation, no second chance.” That’s modern dating for you: a lot of swiping, very little substance.
Now, to be fair, not all app experiences are disasters. Some people find love, friends, or at least a good story. The industry isn’t dying it’s just shifting. Fast. And users are shifting too.
In a world that’s constantly moving, one thing hasn’t changed: people still want real chemistry. The spark. The fire. More than ever, people are craving something meaningful. They want to break out of their so-called "comfort zones" which, let’s face it, are usually just the familiar zones and meet people in a way that feels authentic, exciting, and maybe even a little unexpected.
That’s exactly why we created IGNIS.
IGNIS isn’t just another dating app. It’s a whole new kind of social dating experience app. We ditched the swipe and built something better something real. We match you based on you: your personality, your lifestyle, your passions, and even your food preferences.
Yes, your food preferences because what you eat says more about you than you might think. Your culture, your habits, your rhythm of life, even your current phase in life. We evolve, and so does how we eat, drink, socialize, and connect. And we think your match should reflect all of that.
IGNIS uses that rich, personal data to bring you highly compatible matches and then it invites you to meet in real life at curated, unforgettable events. No awkward texting marathons, no a room of full singles in a bar. No ghosting. Just a real vibe, real activities and experience together in real time.
So, where are you with your dating app experience?
Still stuck in swipe mode? Or ready to try something different something designed to spark real connection!?
💌The Story Behind Ignis
We start Ignis because something is missing not just in dating apps, but in how people actually connect. Especially in big, beautiful, sometimes overwhelming cities like London.
I met my future wife at a cooking class. I was the chef. She walked in, smiling.
We chopped, stirred, laughed, and flirted over the stove. No bios. No filters. No pressure. Just food, people, and the kind of spark that doesn’t come from a screen.
I’d tried the apps. Swiped. Waited. Wondered.
They made me feel like a product. Too average. Not “hot enough.”
Just another profile in an endless scroll, and we do not talk about those awkward first date that you need to have always a friend call as exit strategy.
And I know I wasn’t alone.
Friends and people around me especially those who were shy, quirky, or just real felt stuck.
Meet new people, a mission. Find love, impossible. Connect with someone for real, it is a mission impossible!
Dating had become a game with no winners or an interview where people check the box, not a genuine conversation to know each other.
Because let’s be honest: swipe culture sucks.
That night I meet my fiancé stuck with me. Then with her everything changed!!!
I realized something: this is how connection should begin in a low pressure environment, just a look, a connection, chemistry in an offline setting, as we used to do before.
Then at the UNI during a business project have been asked to come up with an original idea, and that feeling was still there.
So we started to built Ignis.
Not another dating app packed with ghosted chats, fake profiles and half-written bios.
But something real. Fun. Delicious.
A space where connection starts online in a different way, no more swipe, no small talks, more around you not others. And why not…connect you in person, over shared experiences that awaken all the senses.
👩🍳 Cooking classes where you connect side by side no pressure, no posing, just presence, fun and chemistry.
🍸 Cocktail mixology nights where shaking, sipping, and laughing set the tone, and who knows maybe a cheeky look.
🍷 Wine & food tastings that spark conversation, culture, travel, curiosity over every bite and pour.
💬 A thoughtful compatibility quiz to match people with purpose, interest, lifestyle and hobbies.
🎴 A playful card-flip discovery experience because meeting someone should feel exciting, not exhausting.
Because love deserves more than a match.
It deserves a moment.
A laugh over a spilled drink.
A glance across the prep table.
A toast that turns into a real conversation.
Ignis is a slow-down, look-up, lean-in kind of space.
Where your personality matters more than your profile pic.
Where connection grows through doing, not just talking.
Food, drink, and shared creation have always brought people together.
They’re collaborative, sensory, sometimes chaotic just like love.
If Ignis want people find that spark, their half apple through a spoon, a shaker, or a shared glass of wine then we’re doing something right.
❤️ Let’s cook up something real together.