Exclusive: Urban Company Pilots Video Medical Consultation, Onboards Dermatologists

Gurugram-based hyperlocal services unicorn Urban Company (UC) has on-boarded doctors- primarily dermatologists to offer free medical counseling specifically on skincare to its customers. The startup is currently piloting free medical counseling in a few selected cities.

Anand Dureja, vice president of beauty and wellness at Urban Company said that medical consultation is a core part of its skin care services and it will soon be a fulltime feature. At present, the free medical counseling has been launched as a pilot in parts of Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR region. 

As a part of this plan, Urban Company has roped in Dr Amit Karkhanis to head the medical team. Dr Karkhanis is a renowned cosmologist who has treated several B-town celebrities. 

Urban Company is offering medical counseling services for women at the moment. Its app states that such counseling sessions which are done through videos, involve in-depth discussion on skin issues and treatments available for the same. 

It can be said that the unicorn startup is currently testing its free medical counseling services in selected few cities to understand the demand and gain customers’ trust. It is a common assumption that such services will be made paid in future.

The presently available free video medical counseling is similar to Urban Company’s newly launched video consultation for appliance repairs. 

Such free counseling services can be seen as a crucial step taken by Urban Company to foray deep into skin care treatment. 

As part of its advanced skincare treatment, Urban Company is also piloting laser hair removal therapy, peels and hydra-facial services. A customer opting for these services will receive free dermat consultation from top dermatologists. People aware of the development has informed that Urban Company had earlier tied-up with a few clinics if there was a need for medical assistance, but this is the first time the startup has hired dermatologists. 

At the moment, Urban Company will not be selling any skincare products on its platform. 

“Our end-objective with this offering is to provide high-quality beauty treatment services like laser hair removal and advanced medi-facials, at home. To achieve this objective, we have innovated in several aspects such as working with vendors to develop a portable, light-weight yet high-efficacy laser machine. Medical consultations are an important part to facilitate providing these services at home,” added Dureja. 

When asked whether Urban Company will enter into other medical specialties other than skincare, Dureja said that the firm is currently focused on beauty-related treatments and will look at expanding their portfolio ‘over-time.’ 

Founded in 2014 by Abhiraj Bahl, Raghav Chandra, and Varun Khaitan, Urban Company (formerly known as Urban Clap) is a home service company that focuses on beauty and massage, appliance repair, plumbing, carpentry, cleaning, and painting.

The startup at present operates in more than 10 major cities including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune among others. 

In FY21, Urban Company has posted revenue worth INR 247 Cr from its operations as compared to INR 218 Cr in FY20. While it clocked a total expense of INR 539 Cr in FY21, a 29% jump from INR 418 Cr it posted in FY20, the startup’s loss widened by almost 60% to INR 249 Cr in FY21.

Urban Company enjoys support of marquee investors such as Prosus Ventures, Dragoneer, Wellington Management, Tiger Global, Steadview, Vy Capital, among others.