Online Pharmacy Netmeds Acquires Hyperlocal Medicine Delivery Startup Pluss

Online pharmacy Netmeds has acquired Delhi-based hyperlocal delivery startup for medicine, healthcare and wellness products, Pluss for an undisclosed amount. The company was in advanced talks to complete the acquisition earlier in October this year.

Post the acquisition, Pluss will continue to run its operations and facilities in Delhi, but will merge with Netmeds as one entity. A few of the senior official's from Pluss' team will relocate to Chennai and will work from Netmeds' office.

Launched in 2015 by Atit Jain, Madhulika Pandey, and Tarun Lawadia, Pluss is an on-demand medicine delivery startup that provides its services by placing orders through calls, Whatsapp or the Pluss website. In addition to delivering medicines, Pluss also offers baby care, pet care, personal wellness, and daily essential products. It also has an in house delivery team called, 'Pluss Men'.

In November 2015, it raised $1 Mn in a Pre-Series A round of funding led by IDG Ventures India, M&S partners, and Powerhouse Ventures. Before that, the startup had reportedly raised $200K as Seed funding from angel investors including Kunal Bahl and Anand Chandrasekaran among others.

The startup currently provides its services in Delhi NCR and Hyderabad. As per an official statement, post the deal, Netmeds will be able to double its penetration in the NCR region.

Commenting on the acquisition, Pradeep Dadha, CEO, Netmeds said: "This acquisition makes a lot of sense for us since it allows us to scale quicker, and shorten the delivery interval and improve efficiencies in Tier I Metros. This has become even more incumbent upon us, as demonetisation and the move to a cashless economy combined with a robust digital mobile consumerism, fuels our growth."

Chennai-based Netmeds was founded in 2010 by Pradeep Dadha. It is a licensed pharmacy marketplace that offers authenticated prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicine along with other health products. Users can upload their prescription that is examined by the company's pharmacists to assist with proper dosage, duration, and other points of validity before completing the order.

In October 2015, it raised $50 Mn led by OrbiMed, a healthcare-focussed investment firm. Users can order medicines through NetMeds' mobile app as well available on both iOS and Android platforms.

Other players operating in this space include Medfinder, 1mg, Pharmeasy, MyMedisyn, Medist, and Mera Medicare.