Rise Of The Dietician

Suchita Singh, 28, post graduate, gets a call from her dietician at 7 in the evening. Her dietician asks her about her weight, her dietary habits over the past few days and her general well-being. She advises her on how to maintain her newly found ideal weight by developing a customized menu for her!

Welcome to the modern day world of supplementary professions!!

Over the last few years, certain professions seemed to have multiplied manifold. While these professions are not completely new, their supposed glamor and pervasiveness has increased tremendously off late. While the increasing penetration of the smartphone might have added the 'on demand' flavor to these professions, it is solely the lifestyles of the millennial generation that has led to their incredible rise. The article looks at some of these professions.
Keep hogging away while your tummy stays tucked in!

A few years ago, Rujuta Diwekar, Kareena Kapoor's dietician, created a flutter in weight loss circles with her blockbuster book "Don't lose your mind, lose your weight". A decade later, her book seems to be passé. Modern day millennials are moving on from reading a prescribed script to having personalized, on demand dieticians. Their services, costing anything between ?750 - ?1000 per consultation, are in incredibly high demand. What separates them from hordes of articles and books is the customization factor; they call you every few days to enquire about your weight, track it and prescribe a diet for the next few days. Some of them are even trying to differentiate themselves by trying to consciously add comfort food (read chocolates, pizzas, etc.) in their prescribed diets to appear attractive to potential clients. Are they in demand? A quick search on Urban Clap gives you the list of 100+ dieticians in Delhi. Does it really work? Just go through the testimonials section on the same page!

We are so cute together as a threesome!
The wedding photographer, with some of them being IIM graduates, has been an integral part of the Great Indian Wedding Tamasha. This integral wedding component has been taken forward with a minor adjustment; a honeymoon photographer. A honeymoon photographer accompanies the newly married couple to exotic locations. S/he has the exact same itinerary as the couple and manages to click jaw dropping, natural, social media friendly pictures. For instance, a honeymoon photographer can trail the couple on a stroll by the beach or on a cruise and click pictures without intruding their privacy. The profession is quite lucrative; a honeymoon photographer charges anywhere between ?50,000 to ?100,000 a day besides logistics costs.

It's not all about the money!
Every family, irrespective of affluence, has a trusted financial advisor. S/he is often an agent who assists with investment paperwork, tax filing but also plays the role of a trusted financial advisor. Most high profile postgraduates in their latest 20s are sitting on nearly a crore in savings with multiple savings options to mull over; for instance, what percentage of investments should be in debt funds, stocks, gold, dollar assets, VPF? This gets further complicated with calculating dividend yields, managing capital gains, taxes, portfolio rebalancing, etc. Given the exotic and high pressure lifestyles, a set of private banks are making a beeline for this segment with customized wealth management services. Such services, which are fee based, are advisory in nature where the private bank takes care of the funds and manages the entire investment process depending on the declared individual risk profiles. Such services, costing ~1% of the portfolio size, were earlier restricted to HNI (high net worth individuals) and UHNI (ultra-high net worth individuals) but they are now moving to the middle of the pyramid. In some circles, managing the nuts and bolts of your money can be seen as drudgery and the presence of a wealth manager is often considered inevitable!

Monopolizing the elixir of youth!
This is a corollary to the earlier mention of the 'rise of the dietician'. Beauty salons and parlors are going digital. On demand, personalized beauty treatments in the comfort of one's home are on the rise. Personalized beauticians specializing in various beauty treatments (e.g. hair trimming, waxing and pedicure) are available online for a session of treatment in the comfort of your home. Users of such treatments, costing anywhere between ?750 to ?2000 a session, are highly choosy and once they get used to a particular beautician rarely change them. Are they in demand? Do a quick search on House Joy for the number of such beauticians available. In case you are still not convinced, read through the testimonials!

Minimalist, wooden, antique or spiritual!
A few years ago, in the ecommerce world, home furniture was seen as the next big category. This gave rise to many players in this segment (e.g. Pepper Fry, Urban Ladder). This concept was even extended to renting furniture and the setting up of 'paying by use' model. The latest fad is to take this process one step further. Enter the on demand interior designer. She enters your house and designs it using your and her imagination to create an environment that is either minimalistic, wooden, spiritual, artistic, or antique. She brings modern day architectural innovations and fantasies to your doorstep to match your huge aspirations and reflect your inner personality. She does the designs, gets the furniture constructed, looks after the hues and sets up your dream home. All this in a matter of 8 - 12 weeks!

In conclusion, such professions are being driven by increasing millennial affluence, relentless peer pressure and the perennial syndrome of having to prove that someone has arrived in life. These behaviors get aggravated with artificial, picture perfect lives being showcased on social media.

I am quite sure there are more such professions ready to make a killing in the days to come with 'on demand shrink' having the highest potential!!

Suchita's dietician recommends that she can go for an extra bout of dessert that evening. Suchita is naturally delighted; after all it is Rs 750 very well spent. And the needle of the weighing machine is still smiling!