Can you tell us about Pharmanity and introduce yourself?
I am Samuel Mottin, pharmacist and founder of Pharmanity.com. I developed Pharmanity based on very simple findings. Access to information from French pharmacies was complex for patients. Prices can vary significantly and not all products are immediately available in all pharmacies.
On the pharmacists' side, they tend to specialize in specific fields of activity, brands or services. Since it is not possible for them to advertise, I decided to improve access to information for local pharmacies. Thus was born Pharmanity.com in early 2014, after meeting several people who accompanied me in the adventure, including Alban Charrière, co-founder.
Your solution is described as innovative, tell us a little more.
Pharmanity.com makes it easy for patients to know which nearby pharmacy has a particular product in stock, and at what price. The solution is simple for the pharmacist: registration, entry of his information and updates of his product catalog are fast and automatic.
We position ourselves as the reference player in connected pharmacies and web-to-store.
Does the web-to-store have an interest when it comes to health or beauty/wellness products?
If you analyze other markets that are not in health, the trend is web-to-store or click-and-collect. People need to maintain a physical connection and be able to interact with professionals. This is even stronger when it comes to products that have a link to health.
Since the authorization of the online sale of medicines, many players have positioned themselves in this niche. However, with now 2 and a half years of hindsight, we see that online pharmacies that say they are well positioned in terms of product references or prices are not in comparison with local pharmacies. It is also surprising to imagine patients ordering a treatment on the Internet and waiting to have it delivered to them to start treating themselves... With Pharmanity.com we save them time and money while promoting contact and proximity between patients and pharmacists.
What is the interest for pharmacists to use your solution?
Pharmacists have to manage an establishment and often do not have the time and skills to manage a website to publicize their activities. With Pharmanity.com, we offer them a complete turnkey solution that makes their pharmacy connected in order to redirect Internet users to their pharmacy.
The goal for pharmacists is to gain visibility on the Internet to help them generate additional sales in their pharmacy.
What are the latest news about the site and its development?
We have set up a product reservation system for patients allowing pharmacists to prepare products in advance in order to optimize their time and save patients money.
We have also signed a partnership with a major consumer health site to offer new value-added services for patients at our partner pharmacies.
Finally we have recently put online a blog with practical tips, tricks and information on health, beauty and well-being.
Learn more about pharmanity.com
