Synopsis of the App
Staking claim as the world's first health currency, Wellcoin provides a way to earn rewards for healthy behaviors.
Platform and Price
Free: Apple, Android, Web.
RDN Score
3 out of 5
Pros
Earn Wellcoins for hundreds of activities, including getting adequate sleep or having a healthy beverage or meal.
Users earn Wellcoins by claiming and verifying healthy activities.
Wellcoins can be spent in the Wellcoin Marketplace for real-life goods and services redeemed online or from local partners in select cities. Redeem Wellcoins for items such as gift cards to a food market or a discount at an athletics store and more.
Users are kept honest and rewarded with more points by verifying activities with a photo or syncing with a tracking app.
Automatically earn Wellcoins when you connect with your Fitbit, RunKeeper or Strava accounts and other fitness tracking devices and sleep 7 or more hours or go on a run or ride.
Leaderboard updates and community involvement motivate and hold users accountable for the healthy behaviors they post.
Easily track healthy activities logged and weekly and lifetime point balances from the app dashboard.
Cons
Limited access to local fitness partners and vendors – limited primarily to Boston and NYC areas with more partners to come.
The Wellcoins community has not reached a critical mass yet, yielding limited community engagement – a critical piece for success in this model.
Bottom Line
One to watch as the community grows, Wellcoins is a good concept that gives a virtual then real life pat on the back for doing the little things that support lifelong health. In any case, Wellcoins may help keep some people motivated to engage in and log healthy activities and reap the rewards.
Marisa Moore, MBA, RDN, LD, is based in Atlanta and specializes in culinary nutrition, communications and consulting. She blogs at marisamoore.com. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
