Interviewed by Syed Md. Rakeen, Team MBR

Shombhob is an online pharmacy and healthcare products shop. Their e-commerce platform provides a convenient delivery service for regular and emergency medicines and healthcare products round the clock. They deliver monthly prescription refills regularly for the customers who depend on them for authentic and pharmacist-supervised prescription refill services. They also offer female customers a comfortable platform to order their feminine hygiene and reproductive health products. Shombhob’s main focus is to enable and empower women of Bangladesh to easily and comfortably access their medicines, feminine hygiene products, and reproductive health products without having to depend on others. They are also exclusive distributors of some imported healthcare products. Team MBR was in conversation with Ms. Azra Salim and was fortunate enough to learn about Shombhob Health and its growing presence in the online pharmacy industry.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Since the inception of Shombhob Health in the year 2021, the online pharmacy and healthcare shop has been delivering medicines, healthcare products, toiletries, baby care products, and pet care products to its customers’ doorsteps. Would you kindly share with us the story of how you came up with this idea?

Azra Salim: The idea for an online pharmacy has been in my head for many years. I tried to start one when I was working for my family business, Jayson Pharmaceuticals Ltd. However, e-commerce needs full-time attention, and I could never concentrate on the new project when I was at Jayson since the pharmaceutical business always took priority. During COVID, I felt the importance of this business. I felt that the people of Bangladesh, in Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh, are ready for this model. More people were shopping online for everyday essentials, preferring the convenience of shopping online. COVID accelerated the trend, creating a massive opportunity for e-commerce businesses. Of course, Shombhob wasn’t founded then. A year later, in 2021, I decided to take this forward full- time. I strongly believed in the concept. The more I learned about pharmaceutical and healthcare services, the more I could see myself being involved in it long-term. So, in 2021, I took the plunge and started Shombhob in October.

Syed Md. Rakeen: You are one of the directors of Jayson Pharmaceuticals, and you have been involved in the company for over 15 years. Did the experience you have received from Jayson Pharmaceuticals facilitate the development process of Shombhob Health?

Azra Salim: Absolutely, yes. I learned a lot about the local pharmaceutical market while working in Jayson. I got to know about the products, the regulatory requirements, the supply chain, and the marketing strategies in the healthcare sector. All of this contributed a great deal to my confidence and knowledge base to start Shombhob. Having over 15 years of working experience in the industry also gave me credibility as a founder. I have included other pharma industry professionals in my team at Shombhob because our collective experience has made it easier for Shombhob to gain traction.

Syed Md. Rakeen: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a good number of online pharmacies have come into operation. How does Shombhob Health differentiate itself in terms of product offerings, marketing, and pricing strategies from other online pharmacies?

Azra Salim: Our service and our customer-focused approach are two things that differentiate us from others. We don’t offer deep discounts on medicines; we only offer an 8 per cent discount on medicines, and we offer discounts on other products, such as feminine hygiene products, diapers, etc., as a customer acquisition strategy. But we try to retain customers through our service quality. The hope is that someone who buys one type of product will eventually go on to buy other types of products.

We have pharmacists to supervise customer service and answer questions. Our customers have an open channel to have a conversation with our pharmacists about medicines. We do 24/7 deliveries of medicines if needed. We have often delivered medicines late at night and to hospital patients as well.

Another differentiator is that we target to serve women best. We want Shombhob to be a safe and discrete place for women to order their feminine hygiene and reproductive healthcare products. Our customer service executives are all female, and we offer discrete packaging of products that women are not usually comfortable when buying from any physical pharmacy.

Our supply chain is also very strong as a result of our pharmaceutical industry network, and we can ensure authentic and timely product sourcing.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Shombhob Health offers monthly medicine subscription services based on doctors’ prescriptions. Would you kindly share with us the feedback Shombhob Health is receiving regarding this service?

Azra Salim: Yes, we deliver monthly prescription refills to our customers. This is a very popular service, and we have found that urban people, especially elderly people who depend on others to get their regular medications, really appreciate this service. We give a discount on products and also answer any of their questions about their medicines.

Syed Md. Rakeen: There are some medicines that are strictly prohibited from being sold without a doctor’s recommendation, and physical drug stores have often been found to sell those medicines without prescriptions. How does Shombhob Health respond to such requests from its customers?

Azra Salim: We are careful to screen orders for medicines that are strictly prohibited from being sold without prescriptions. We check the prescription and do not fulfil the order if there is any suspicion of abuse of medication. Our pharmacists screen each medicine order to ensure safety.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Though drug manufacturers have introduced various safety measures to prevent the counterfeiting of medicines, it has been found that counterfeit medicines are widely available on the market. What safety measures are there to ensure that there are no counterfeit medicines at Shombhob Health?

Azra Salim: Shombhob purchases all medicines directly from the manufacturers and authorised distributors (in the case of foreign medicines). We do not risk purchasing medicines from the wholesale market as we are aware of the safety risks involved.

Syed Md. Rakeen: As per a report published by The Business Standard in July 2023, online pharmacies occupy less than 1% of the market. What suggestions do you have for online pharmacies so that they can gain a sizable market share?

Azra Salim: Ensuring the authenticity of products and the reliability of service will result in people having more faith in online pharmacies over time. As people get more used to shopping online, the percentage market share of online pharmacies will increase automatically.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Has Shombhob Health attempted to raise funds yet? If yes, how is it planning to raise the next round of funds? If not, does it have any plans to raise funds very soon?

Azra Salim: Yes, Shombhob Health has raised funds and is raising its second round of funds at the moment. We are raising funds as we have plans to increase our online and offline promotions and market coverage. We also want to improve our technology and expand our team as we scale up.

Shombhob online pharmacy is laying the groundwork for my future goals in healthcare. E-commerce is fascinating and competitive, but with the customer database that we are building as a result of selling medicines and healthcare products to the people of Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh, we’re learning about the healthcare needs of people and their needs for medicine and healthcare products for various diseases, including sudden illnesses, chronic care diseases, etc. We are building the base for a special kind of healthcare service we want to provide in the future.