VERIFIED MARKET REPORT – The Premium Matchmaking Service Market report by Verified Market Reports (March 2025) estimates the market will grow from $1.2B in 2024 to $2.5B by 2033, at a CAGR of 8.9%. Growth is driven by rising demand for personalized, high-end dating services among affluent users, especially in Asia-Pacific. Online matchmaking now accounts for 60% of market revenue, with key players including It's Just Lunch, VIDA Select, and EliteMatrimony.
Category: It’sJustLunch
Andrea McGinty: Founder of It’s Just Lunch and 33,000 Dates
BOLD JOURNEY – Andrea McGinty is a pioneer in the dating industry, best known for founding It’s Just Lunch in 1990 with just $3K. The idea was born after her own heartbreak – her fiancé called off their wedding two days before the ceremony – when she realized there was no professional way to meet great partners. Inspired by executive recruiters, she built a matchmaking service that grew to 110 locations worldwide and was responsible for ~10K marriages. She sold the company at its peak in 2010, choosing an offer from a Private Equity firm over Match.com. Afterward, she launched 33,000 Dates, a modern dating consultancy for the over-45 crowd, focusing on helping clients navigate online dating with strategy and confidence. In February 2025, she released her book, “2nd Acts: Winning Strategies for Dating Over 50”, a step-by-step manual designed like a business plan for one’s love life. She continues to coach clients, speak publicly, and appear on podcasts, with over 65% of her clients currently in relationships.
It’s Just Lunch Minneapolis Named BBB 2022 Torch Awards for Ethics Finalist
PR NEWSWIRE – The company was recognized by the Better Business Bureau for its continued commitment to operational ethics and integrity. Presented by the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota (BBB), the Torch Award for Ethics is the BBB's highest honor and recognizes exceptional businesses that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to ethics and integrity across all aspects of their operation. It's Just Lunch Minneapolis is a division of IJL Select, the largest and most successful franchise group within the international It's Just Lunch system.
Online Dating Expert Develops Dating Quiz to Determine Dating Success Probability
GLOBE NEWSWIRE – May 20 – Andrea McGinty, founder of both 33000Dates.com and It's Just Lunch, has developed a new dating quiz that will determine dating success. The questions have been developed based on her over 20+ years in the dating marketplace and what she sees as common mistakes most daters make. The quiz takes less than 10 minutes. Daters will get a score ranging from A to F based on their responses to questions about their online dating profiles, photos, and response tactics, to name a few.
See full article at Globe Newswire
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Class Action Lawsuit Claims It’s Just Lunch Defrauded Customers
THE DENVER CHANNEL – Feb 16 – It's Just Lunch sells itself as an elite international matching service that has offices across the country. The company settled one class action lawsuit in 2019 and now faces another. As a part of the lawsuit and settlement agreement, It's Just Lunch agreed to pay ~$5M to impacted clients. The lawsuit called the dating service "a massive scheme to defraud tens of thousands of single professionals throughout the country." In a lengthy statement, the company said, "The new claims in the California lawsuit are brought by two individuals. It is very disappointing and unfortunate that this matter is pending because these allegations are completely without merit. IJL intends to vigorously defend the new suit."
“33,000 Dates” Coaching Services, Started by It’s Just Lunch Founder
LAS VEGAS WEEKLY – Feb 10 – Back in the pre-internet dating era, romantic disaster set Andrea McGinty on her life course. Her fiancé broke things off just weeks before their wedding. This led her to found matchmaking service It's Just Lunch. Fast-forward a quarter century. McGinty sold that business, relocated to Las Vegas five years ago and founded a new company: 33,000 Dates. The name comes from the number of dates she estimates she has set up over the course of her career. She helps women in their 30s, 40s and 50s navigate online dating, from the perspective of writing their profiles and vetting their photos to choosing the right dating site for them.
by C. Moon Reed
See full article at Las Vegas Weekly
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Matchmakers Emerge as an Antidote to the Agony of Online Dating
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Mar 8 – In a 2018 Match.com survey, 55% of respondents said technology makes personal connections harder to make, and 54% felt overwhelmed by the work involved. Melissa Brown, CEO of It's Just Lunch, a matchmaking service founded in 1991, says the company has seen its fastest growth in the past couple of years among daters in their 20s and 30s. "They're sick of the swiping and the countless hours of talking to people that goes nowhere," she said. Three Day Rule, another matchmaking service, grew out of Talia Goldstein's LA apartment, where in 2013 she would host large parties in hopes of fixing up friends. Now CEO of the company, she secured funding from Match Group, and her company boasts ~700 users across 10 cities. Its services start at $5,500. Clients receive professional photo shoots, and matchmakers help them write texts to prospective dates and shop for appropriate clothes. After each date, the matchmaker will check in with both parties and give the client feedback.
by Michelle Hackman
See full article at Wall Street Journal
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$2000 + $99 a Month Silicon Valley Matchmaker
THE BEACH REPORTER – Feb 25 – Veteran wedding planner Constance Curtis launched The List for elite singles in Southern California. It combines "old fashioned intuition with science and technology." "I saw a space in the industry between the dating apps and matchmaking," said Curtis. "Many people using a matchmaker spend between $14,000 and $25,000 for the service." Curtis charges $2000 initiation and a subscription fee of $99/mo. The List is powered by real-life matchmakers and relationship experts with 15 years of combined experience. Elite members are met in person, and receive a personal matchmaker, and receive feedback after each date. The app is free. User's create a free profile and are added to The List's database of potential suitors for its elite members. Free members have access to the site, but not actual matchmaking services. For $1.99, non-elite members can also purchase "coins" to send messages about suitors they are interested in to the matchmakers. They've had 400 downloads, and have 15 elite clients.
by Genie Davis
See full article at The Beach Reporter
Mark Brooks: There really is a gap between dating apps and matchmakers. Noone has quite cracked it yet. Although, I believe Tawkify are occupying that space, Three Day Rule had a go at it, and It's Just Lunch have been working at it for years, but I don't really regard them as matchmakers. It's actually tough to deliver proper matchmaking services for anything less than $5k a year.
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It’s Just Lunch Sued For Setting Up Bad Dates
SE TEXAS RECORD – Mar 21 – Robert Rice is suing It's Just Lunch after several bad dates, claiming one woman showed him naked pictures of herself. Seeking punitive damages, Rice filed suit against It's Just Lunch on March 20, alleging the dating service is nothing but a scheme to defraud tens of thousands of single professionals throughout the country.
by David Yates
See full article at SE Texas Record
It’s Just Lunch! To Face Another Lawsuit
ENTERTAINMENT LAW DIGEST – Sep 12 – Lead plaintiff Sarah Dunphy sued It’s Just Lunch!, along with its corporate parent Riverside Partners and director Loren Schlachet. Dunphy claims she paid $2,7K for the service, only to be provided with men who were married, unemployed and otherwise unsuitable. Dunphy says the company makes many other misrepresentations about its service. She seeks class certification and damages for fraud and unjust enrichment.
by Chris Fry
The full article was originally published at Entertainment Law Digest, but is no longer available.