Pharmaca Healthcare Practitioners

Positioning a knowledgeable healthcare advocate in the front-end aisles isn’t new — Pharmaca has banked on this key point of differentiation since its inception more than a decade ago. “Anytime you put anybody in the aisle for customer service, you’re going to increase your sales,” commented Mark Panzer, Pharmaca CEO. “Because people are looking for information; they’re looking for recommendations, a consultation to help them establish a regimen … to improve their health condition,” he said. “Anytime you can supply them with anybody who has any knowledge on their health care, whether a naturopathic doctor or health adviser, is a good move for the industry.”

Pharmaca’s health-and-wellness ambassadors are distinct from the ambassadors across the national retailers in that they are actual healthcare professionals — naturopathic doctors, homeopathic doctors, nurse practitioners, ayurvedic doctors and even aestheticians. “They’re knowledge base is a little bit more than just the product in the store — they have a deeper knowledge base to pull from to help patients on OTCs, supplements, nutrition [and] beauty care,” Panzer said.

Pharmaca currently operates 24 stores across five states.