What makes Dietcare stand out is its fresh approach

Having launched her business only a few months ago, Judith Howson is already enjoying life as a Dietcare franchise owner and making a difference to people's lives.

For Judith Howson, joining the growing Dietcare family of franchise owners has helped her fulfil an ambition to find an interesting and rewarding career - and she's now busy encouraging and motivating people to lose weight healthily.

"I worked in market research for a few years, but I didn't really enjoy it," recalls Judith, whose Bromsgrove-based Dietcare business launched earlier this year. "I did have some experience with franchising in the past, so I went to an exhibition in London to investigate the opportunities available and see if anything appealed to me."

With her interest in healthy eating and weight issues in general, Judith was naturally attracted to Dietcare and its personal, ethical approach to nutrition and dieting.

Established over 30 years ago by respected nutritionist Norah Lane, Dietcare began franchising in 1992 and has an ever-increasing number of franchise owners across the country. The role of a Dietcare franchise owner is to arrange one-to-one consultations with their customers and provide them with ongoing support and guidance, while the customers follow their diet plans created exclusively for them by the dietetic team at head office.

"What makes Dietcare stand out is that it has a fresh approach," Judith explains. "Our customers don't have to eat special supplements or drink gimmicky products. With Dietcare, every diet is developed to suit the individual's needs and all the food is easily available from local supermarkets."

In March, Judith attended Dietcare's comprehensive two-week training course, which covers all aspects of running the business and includes a Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) exam.

"The training was really interesting and enjoyable," she says. "It did a great job in providing me with the skills and knowledge I need in order to get my business up and running efficiently."

With a successful launch behind her, Judith is now concentrating on building her customer base and getting the Dietcare approach firmly established in her area.

"All our consultations and weigh-ins are confidential and done on a one-to-one basis," she explains, "but Dietcare has a very well-respected name and word soon gets around about how effective and healthy the approach is. My business has got off to a really good start and I hope to be looking at employing some staff and expanding the premises in the future."

For Judith, helping customers achieve their targets and having a positive impact on their lives is all part of the success. "I really enjoy my role as a Dietcare advisor," she says. "The relationships I'm building with customers and with the wider community are really rewarding. It's great knowing I can help improve people's self-confidence and body image."