The good old saying “health is wealth” proves to be accurate as each day passes. It is the most valuable asset that one could have. Without a healthy body, everything else in life would seem meaningless. So in a world where practically all services are available online, shouldn’t healthcare be too? Well, it is! There are various online healthcare platforms in India that aim to provide the best medical help for the populace. 1mg is India’s leading digital healthcare service based in Gurgaon which provides its consumers with the best assistance for their health needs.
1mg has around 3 million visitors on its platform every month and the app has more than 5 million downloads. A significant portion of their advertisement is digital, but they also use offline sources like health camps and newspaper promotions. Through 1mg, you can order medicines and health products at the tip of your fingers and get them delivered safely to your home.
They only work with licensed pharmacies and qualified doctors. The customers can consult these registered doctors across 20 specialties through chat for free. The platform also saves you from the trouble of going to and fro across various labs to get tests done. They have about 2000 tests and 120 verified labs listed under them. 1mg sends a sample collection service to the address of your choice, and you can quickly get the reports online. 1mg has an editorial section that guarantees authentic and honest information. It contains vast content concerned with medicine and healthcare, which is written by trusted, qualified doctors, and medical professionals.
About the founders and the initial stages
The website was originally launched in 2013 by Prashant Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal, and Vikas Chauhan as a HealthKartPlus platform which was meant to provide information related to medicine and healthcare. Prashant Tandon is an IIT graduate from Delhi who had worked at McKinsey & Co., Hindustan Lever Ltd., and MapMyIndia before co-founding 1mg. He also has a degree in business studies from Stanford University. Gaurav Agarwal is also an IIT graduate who has worked at Farmville- Zynga, and Netapp. Vikas Chauhan accomplished his business studies from Somaiya College. Apart from 1mg, he had also co-founded Fresh ‘n’ Daily, an online marketplace that delivers grocery and everyday essentials to the buyer’s home.
The idea was born when they started receiving much praise for their medical information website. People started asking them why couldn’t they sell medicines if they had so much expertise in that field. Besides, the founders also realized that online business had a steadily growing demand. As a result, 1mg was created in 2015 with an aim to make medical products more accessible to the general public at the best costs. They could soon gain the attention of investors, and the company was able to raise 6 million dollars as primary funding. This gave them the required boost to establish their business and build the necessary technology for it.
What is unique about this online pharmacy?
You might be wondering how people can be persuaded to buy drugs, medicines, and health equipment online when there are several pharmacies all wound. However, even while there are hundreds of these shops, it is rare to find every medicine on your prescription from an individual store. That is precisely what makes online pharmacies different. They do have a limited stock as offline markets do. 1mg provides a single stop shop for all kinds of medicines and healthcare products with a guarantee of decent quality. The user-friendly platform makes it easier for the customer to understand the product they are buying.
Another major factor that makes 1mg succeed is their genuineness. When buying medicines, people want to be assured of the best value for their money. It has the risk of being fake, expired, overpriced, or even damaged. 1mg makes sure that they only collaborate with trustworthy brands with computerized billing and stock management. They try to acquire as many details as they can about the product they are selling through the platform. This kind of authenticity builds trust, and that brings them more customers.
Moreover, 1mg was initially meant to be an online information source of medical and healthcare topics. They were known as the Wikipedia for medicines, and the customers had immense trust in them. Details like side effects, facts, alternative options etc. were provided on the website. Most of their current customers were regular users of this service. This, in itself, had made 1mg more credible for their buyers. The company is also well-liked for the free doctor consultation that they offer. Unlike other online consultation services, 1mg has a B2C business model and tends to focus more on the satisfaction of their customers.
Check out the platform here.
Awards and recognitions
Ever since 1mg was founded, they have been providing excellent service at the best prices for their customers. They have also won various well-deserving honors throughout these years. In 2014, just a year after they started off, 1mg won the m-billionth award for m-health in South Asia. They were also recognized as the most promising health care startup by News Corp VCCircle. In 2016, 1mg was acknowledged as the Best App in the medical category by Gmasa.
They also won the award for the best online pharmacy in India at the International Quality Awards. They achieved the title ‘New Kid on the Block’ at the NDTV Unicorn Awards in the same year. 1mg soon acquired Medd.in and the homeopathy medicine platform homeobuy.com.
1mg was recognized as one of the Top 50 ventures in the Smart CEO-Startup50 India 2017 program. By the year 2017, they had grown by 600% in terms of the success of the app and user engagement. They expanded their product range to encompass Ayurvedic medicines and homeopathy.
Within the years 2016 and 2017, the company had raised 37 million dollars through 5 rounds of funding. In 2018, 1mg won the BML Munjal Award for ‘Business Excellence through Learning and Development’. During the Content Leadership awards in 2018, they won the title ‘Best Content in a Healthcare/Fitness App’. 1mg was also recognized as the Best Mobile Innovation for Health award ‘ at the India Mobile Congress.
