Verdane partners with Apoteka, the leading online pharmacy service platform in Denmark, to democratise access to medicine

Verdane, the European specialist growth equity investor, has announced its growth investment in Apoteka, Denmark’s leading online pharmacy service platform offering end-to-end operations solutions, including logistics, warehousing, IT systems, brand management and marketing, to Danish pharmacies. Apoteka is the full-service tech, marketing and fulfilment provider to ApoPro Online Apotek, Denmark’s number one online pharmacy. Verdane’s investment will support Apoteka’s ambition to grow its market share, attract new customers, develop its brand and logistics capabilities, and enable improved access to medicine and other pharmaceutical products in Denmark. Verdane will draw on its experience from its investment in Farmasiet, a full-service online pharmacy in Norway, and over 40 other digital consumer investments to support Apoteka’s growth.

Apoteka’s purpose is to harness the power of digitalisation to save lives and health lost to medication errors, remove information uncertainty, and personalise and professionalise medical patient guidance based on the safety and needs of the consumer. Since its founding in 2017, Apoteka has developed a digital platform supported by a developed logistics network and strong in-house tech capabilities, allowing the company to take advantage of the migration from offline to online pharmacy services in the Danish market, which is characterised by one of the lowest numbers of community pharmacies per 100 000 people in the OECD. A first mover in the Danish online pharmacy industry, Apoteka enables faster delivery speed, more competitive prices, a broader assortment, and improved patient medical guidance for online pharmacy customers.

Through Apoteka’s platform, customers can access both over the counter and prescription drugs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from the comfort of their own home. The platform connects customers and patients with registered, verified pharmacists who can provide discrete, personalised advice about their health. Customers are also guaranteed that their personal data is protected through the company’s advanced technological capabilities.

The majority investment from Verdane will support Apoteka in continuing to penetrate the online pharmacy market, attract new customers, improve the customer experience and loyalty, broaden its product offering, and optimise its logistic setup. Verdane will draw on its deep expertise from partnering with tech-enabled businesses and its 30-strong operational enhancement team, Elevate, to improve Apoteka’s brand-building strategy and leverage data-analytics to support continued growth.

Merle Price, Director at Verdane commented: ‘’Apoteka’s end-to-end pharmacy operations platform is the only one of its kind in Denmark developed for a digital-first world. As the operations partner to ApoPro, Denmark’s largest online pharmacy, Apoteka’s business holds the potential to improve healthcare for millions of people by improving access to medicine. The Verdane team is proud to harness its experience from scaling Norway’s largest online pharmacy, Farmasiet, and over 40 digital consumer investments to help Apoteka take the next step on its growth trajectory.”

Martin Glesner, CEO of Apoteka, commented: “As customers increasingly move online, pharmacies have a unique role as a trusted place for prevention, relief and treatment. This is a privileged role, but it also comes with a responsibility to evolve, take advantage of technological developments and respond to changing consumer demands to actively participate in delivering better healthcare. There is a clear need for democratising access to medicine in Denmark, and we are delighted to have Verdane as a partner to help Apoteka address this need. Verdane’s expertise in e-commerce, scaling digital businesses and online pharmacy services will prove invaluable as we embark on the next stage of our growth journey.”