How PharmEasy disrupted the brick and mortar industry through differentiated offerings
PharmEasy has scaled its operations at a rapid pace in a short time. By relying on platforms such as Meta it has expanded its reach across India
PharmEasy’s main challenges included rapid expansion and spreading the word among millions of Indians to inspire trust and get sign-ups. Meta Technologies assisted the outfit in casting a wide web and increasing its reach in quick time while being a solid partner throughout the unicorn’s journey.“What started as a college project is today one of India’s largest digital healthcare ecosystemsâ€, says Siddharth Shah, the Chief Executive Officer of API Holdings, which owns the PharmEasy platform, among India’s leading healthcare aggregators and a one-stop destination for medicines, lab tests and healthcare products.
Pharmeasy was born in 2014 with the objective of making healthcare accessible in India. When clothes, phones, furniture and even food pivoted from offline to online, it was ironic that consumers would have to rely on the local chemist for their medicines, a rather basic need. It was common for people to go from one outlet to another if the prescribed drugs were out of stock.
PharmEasy spotted an opportunity. With smartphones becoming ubiquitous and broadband rates ever-falling, it began selling medicines online at affordable rates to a ready customer base. However, it had to ramp up its operations quickly by overcoming two key barriers: instilling trust and improving adoption. “We knew that it was only a matter of time before the category would get cluttered and others would follow our lead,†says Mr. Shah.
It wasn’t easy. Not only did PharmEasy have to serve every habitable pin code, but it also had to spread the word such that every diversified target group would discover its services. “We had to build a brand and get people to believe in us, and I think that is where Meta Technologies came into the pictureâ€, adds Mr. Shah.
“Platforms like Facebook played a crucial role in driving scale and performance at a razor-fast speed for us,†reckons Mr. Shah. Soon, PharmEasy was serving over 18,000 zip codes across the length and breadth of the country, including the boondocks.
