India’s Leading Online Pharmacy Netmeds Tops Market Valuation at $125 Million

Pradeep Dhadha’s Pharma Startup Netmeds – Indian ki Apni Pharmacy

Netmeds is one of the most popular and successful startups in India. It provides various services such as medicines, healthcare facilities, healthcare products, etc. They also provide doctor's consultation services for their customers. They are known for delivering medicines to the doorsteps of their customers in no time. So let's get to read the success story of this awesome startup that has made our lives simpler.

Note: Netmeds will increase the number of warehouses in the country and is targetting more tier 3 cities in the country.

Netmeds - Key Points

• Company Name - Netmeds
• Industry - Pharma
• Founding Year - 2010
• Founders - Pradeep Dadha
• Headquarters - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• Parent Organisation - Reliance
• Website - www.netmeds.com

Netmeds - Founding Member and Team

Netmeds was founded by Pradeep Dadha, the current CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the company. Pradeep graduated from Loyola College, Chennai, and started working for his family business. It's a private holding company and, Pradeep was the chairman of its sister company (Notch Media). They have a hardworking team and, all of them work together to make this startup a success. Some of their team members are as follows:

• Aman Madaan - VP Corporate Communications
• Jugal Anchalia - VP Strategy and New Initiatives
• Advait Pandit - Director of Technology
• Anand Pathak - Director of Marketing and Sales

Netmeds - Brand Name, Logo, and Tagline

• Brand Name - Netmeds brand name is 100% what it does. It is an amalgamation of two words Internet and medicine.
• Logo - The logo of Netmeds is in simple blue and green color that works well for attracting its customers.
• Tagline - The catchline of the company is 'India Ki Pharmacy.

Netmeds - Business Model

Netmeds considers B2B and B2C business models. They sell medicines to customers and pharmacies at wholesale rates based on the prescriptions to the patients. The company also offers 20% to 30% discounts on the prescribed medicines to its consumers. In addition, Netmeds have certified pharmacists who look into the prescriptions before dispatching anything.

Fun Fact:- Netmeds provide healthcare services to almost 2,90,000 patients across the country.

Netmeds - Revenue Model

Netmeds earns its revenue from three sources. It earns the most revenue from the commission that is INR 5 crores (FY 2018-2019). These sources are as follows:

• Marketing
• Commission
• Shipping Charges

Netmeds - Marketing Strategies

Netmeds is quite strategic about their marketing. They use digital and print media to endorse their product and make their company a household name. Some of the strategies used by them are as follows:

• Netmeds spends crores on publishing their products through campaigns and TV commercials.
• They signed famous actors to endorse their brand.
• As the company grew, Netmeds hired MS Dhoni. He is the brand ambassador of the company and, his commercial witnessed more than 30 million views.
• Hiring a global star helps in attracting the audience and, it will help the company to grow.

Netmeds - Investors and Funding

Netmeds was successful in raising a fund of $99 million in three rounds. Its most recent funding was $35 million.

• $35 million - Series C Stage, Daun Penh Cambodia Group, Tanncam Investment, Sistema Asia Fund, 2018
• $14 million - Series B Stage, Sistema Asia Capital, and Tanncam Investment, 2017
• $50 million - Series C Stage, OrbiMed, 2015

Netmeds - Awards and Achievements

Netmeds has made its presence in the market and, the company has been successful in winning various awards and achievements. Some of the awards won by it are as follows:

• Healthcare Tech Startup - By NDTV Unicorn Startups Award, 2016
• Asia's Most Promising Brand - By WCRC International, 2018

Netmeds - Growth

Netmeds has seen significant growth in the past few years. Some of them are as follows:

• The company serves in more than 700 cities.
• Its revenue got doubled in the fiscal year 2018-2019 as compared to 2017-2018.
• Netmeds turnover increased more than INR 10 crores.
• They have 14 warehouses.
• Netmeds has more than 34,000 SKUs in tier 2 & 3 cities.
• They have 15 fulfillment centers in India.

Netmeds - Revenue

Netmeds revenue for the financial year 2017-2018 was more than INR 7 crores. Its revenue almost got doubled in 2018-2019 to INR 14 crore. But the company saw a dip in its revenue in the fiscal year 2019-2020. It got dropped to INR 8 crores.

Netmeds - Competitors

Netmeds has some strong competitors in the market. Some of them are well-funded and has more employees and customer base them Netmeds. Some of its competitors are as follows:

• Pharmacy
• 1mg
• Myra
• Click on Care
• Lybrate
• BigChemist
• Care on Go

Netmeds - Acquisitions

Some of the companies acquired by Netmeds in the last few years are as follows:

• Plus App - Healthcare products app (acquired in 2016)
• JustDoc - Doctor Consulting App (acquired in 2018)
• KiviHealth - Health-tech startup (acquired in 2019)

Netmeds - Challenges

Some of the challenges faced by the company are as follows:

• Convincing Customers - Convening customers to buy medicins online was one of the biggest challenges of the company. They had to educate customers about its benefits and advantages. It was a tedious task to make the shift to an online platform of health-related things.
• Logistics - Handling the logistics have not been easy for the company. They had to source medicines in a short period and deliver it to the patients. It was a difficult task for Netmeds to supply everything on time with this messed-up logistics facility in our country.
• Competitors - Netmeds has a few competitors in the market that are performing well on several levels. Handling them and bringing new strategies to attract their customers is sometimes cumbersome.

Netmeds - Upcoming Plans

Some of the upcoming plans of the company are as follows:

• They are planning to collaborate with various pharma companies to target customers.
• They will acquire more healthcare startups in the future.
• Netmeds is planning on hiring more employees in their company to expand their business.
• Netmeds is also planning to improve its delivery services.
• They will increase their fulfillment centers to 26 by the end of the financial year 2021-2022.
• It will also double its customer base in the next two years.

Netmeds – Fastest Growing Pharma Startup

Netmeds is one of the fastest-growing startups in India. They are performing exceptionally well and, their customers are satisfied and happy. Netmeds growth rate and revenue show that this company is already one of the successful startups of our country.