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Personalized health: the opportunity for pharmacies
Personalized health fits the pharmacy because everything it needs is already there: professional expertise, a consultation counter and people with health questions. Three building blocks turn this into a consultation service: a genetic analysis from a saliva sample, personalized supplements in daily sachets and personalized skincare. The sample takes just a few minutes, the lab analysis takes 4 days, and one supply of supplements lasts 90 days – creating a natural rhythm of advice and return visits. Your pharmacy can offer lifestyle analyses; medical analyses belong in a physician’s hands wherever the law requires it.
Personal beats average: what a European study shows
Does personal advice move people more than general advice? That is exactly what the European Food4Me study set out to test in seven countries. A total of 1,269 adults completed it. Some received conventional dietary advice; the others received personalized advice – depending on the group, based on their diet, on their diet plus body measurements and blood values, or on all of that plus their genes. After six months, participants who received personalized advice ate less red meat, less salt and less saturated fat, took in more folate and scored higher on the Healthy Eating Index than the control group (Celis-Morales et al., International Journal of Epidemiology, 2017).
General advice is like a one-size-fits-all shoe: it sort of fits almost everyone – and truly fits no one. The logical conclusion: tailor recommendations to the person, and you achieve more. That is precisely what a pharmacy is built for. In this article, you will learn why personalized health fits your pharmacy so well, which building blocks it is made of, and where its boundaries lie.
Why the pharmacy, of all places?
Personalized health needs three things: someone who explains results clearly, a place people visit anyway, and trust. Your pharmacy has all three:
- Expertise: You and your team know nutrients and medications – and you know when a question belongs with a physician.
- No appointment needed: Your customers walk in without booking. A conversation about a genetic analysis starts right where people already talk about their health.
- Supplements are already part of the picture: Questions about vitamins and minerals are everyday business at the counter. Personalized supplements give them a personal answer.
- Advice is your strength: The value of a genetic analysis is created in conversation, not on the shelf.
That is why Novogenia names pharmacies explicitly as a partner group: “Personalized analyses and supplements at the counter.” The partner page describes one possible model: the sample is taken in-store and sent to the lab. The customer returns to collect their products and comes back every three months as new supplements are prepared.
Three building blocks: analysis, nutrients, skincare
Personalized health in the pharmacy rests on three building blocks. Each works on its own, and together they complement each other:
| Building block | What your customer gets | What your pharmacy provides |
|---|---|---|
| Genetic analysis | a report on lifestyle topics such as nutrition, weight, sport, stress or skin – digital via a secure portal, printed on request, in up to 18 languages | information, consent, saliva sample, results consultation |
| Personalized supplements | daily sachets of Microtransporters, calculated from genes, a questionnaire and – if available – blood values; one supply lasts 90 days | guiding the questionnaire, including blood values, pickup and reorders |
| Personalized skincare | a day serum, a night serum and a body lotion; the genetic result changes which ingredients are chosen and at what dosage | skincare advice in the language of cosmetics |
What the law in Germany, Austria and Switzerland says about genetic testing is covered in Offering genetic tests in the pharmacy. How genes, a questionnaire and blood values become a formula is explained in Personalized micronutrients. And how skincare finds its place in a pharmacy is described in the cosmetics guide: Selling cosmetics: studio, spa, pharmacy, online.
A personal reason makes the difference
What a genetic analysis adds to a consultation is shown by a randomized trial from Toronto. Participants with an unfavorable variant of the ACE gene received gene-based advice to eat less salt. After twelve months, they had cut their sodium intake significantly more than the control group given general recommendations; the share meeting the recommended target rose from 19% to 34% (Nielsen & El-Sohemy, PLoS One, 2014).
The power of personalization shows in weight management, too: in an internal Novogenia study with 302 people, participants on a gene-based diet lost around 2.4 times more weight than on a standard diet (Explanation of the approach of science).
For your pharmacy, this means: a genetic analysis gives a recommendation a personal reason – and a personal reason motivates. At the same time, we stay honest: every gene we include is backed by at least three independent studies. The recommendations that follow are logical conclusions, not scientifically proven outcomes. Genes are one factor among many, not destiny. Knowing them helps people act with more focus.
From one-off sale to ongoing support
A traditional sale ends at the register. Personalized health is just getting started there. The process naturally creates several points of contact:
- Conversation and saliva sample: After information and written consent, the sample takes just a few minutes.
- Analysis: 4 days in the lab, plus shipping.
- Results consultation: You discuss two or three priorities instead of reading out the entire report.
- Pickup: Your customer collects their personalized products at the pharmacy.
- Every 90 days: One supply of supplements lasts 90 days. For every new production run, the formula is recalculated – using the current age and, if available, an updated questionnaire or new blood values.
Because genes do not change, the report remains a basis for later visits, too; a reorder does not require a new analysis. What matters is the order: advice first, product second. Whether someone wants products after the analysis is the customer’s decision. The process is described in detail in The consultation process in the pharmacy; reorders and subscriptions are explained in Reorders and subscriptions: customer loyalty.
Clear boundaries build trust
Trust is your pharmacy’s most valuable asset. That is why these boundaries belong in your concept from day one:
- Lifestyle or medical: Your pharmacy can offer lifestyle analyses on nutrition, weight, sport, stress and skin. Medical analyses, such as those on disease risks, belong in a physician’s hands wherever national law requires it – in Germany under Section 7 GenDG. Switzerland takes its own path: there, pharmacists are explicitly among the professions allowed to order lifestyle analyses (Art. 40 GUMV).
- Supplements are not medicines: They are foods. You may only advertise them with authorized health claims, never with promises to cure or prevent disease.
- Skincare stays skincare: Talk about caring for the skin and its appearance, not about treatment.
- Data protection: Genetic data enjoy special protection under Art. 9 GDPR; your customer gives explicit consent and knows who sees their report. In Switzerland, Art. 5 GUMG requires free and express consent after adequate information.
- Medications: Decisions about medicines – stopping, switching, changing the dose – are made by the treating physician.
You will find the details in Law: what pharmacies must consider and Advertising health services.
Three routes into your product range
How much of it should carry your own brand? Novogenia offers pharmacies three routes, which can be combined:
| Route | What it means | A good fit if you … |
|---|---|---|
| Finished Novogenia products | You offer Novogenia’s genetic analyses and personalized products, for example through your own partner shop with a commission on every order and no setup fees – or the personalized BeautyMe skincare for resale. | want to get started quickly |
| White label | The range carries your logo, your label and your packaging; Novogenia stays invisible to the outside world. Supplements are available from a single unit, cosmetics from small batches. | want to build your own pharmacy brand |
| Your own product idea | You bring your idea or preferred composition; Novogenia advises on the formulation and dosage form and turns it into your brand. | want to stand out with your own concept |
If you want to get started quickly, begin with finished products and switch to your own brand later. The model works for a single pharmacy just as well as for a pharmacy group. With your own brand, keep in mind: the company under whose name a product is marketed is always responsible for its label and claims. More in Own brand: supplements and cosmetics.
Five questions to get you started
- Which health questions do you and your team hear most often – about nutrition, weight, sport or skin?
- Who on your team will lead the conversations, and where is there a quiet spot for them?
- In which country do you advise customers, and which rules apply to genetic testing there?
- Will you start with finished products or go straight to your own brand?
- How often do you want to see your customers again – and what will you offer them on their next visit?
How to prepare your team is covered in Training the pharmacy team. The path from decision to first customer is described in Launching the offer in 6 steps.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my own lab or equipment to offer genetic analyses?
Does this work for a small, independent pharmacy?
Does a genetic analysis replace a medical examination?
Does my customer need a new analysis for every reorder?
Will my customers see the Novogenia name?
Related: Novogenia’s partner program · Adding nutrigenetics to your practice: 6 steps · Selling cosmetics: studio, spa, pharmacy
Personalized health in your pharmacy?
Tell us about your pharmacy and your customers – we will show you which model fits.
Request a project →Offer for pharmaciesNote: This guide is general information for businesses and professionals and does not replace medical or legal advice. The genetic traits determined in a genetic analysis are well documented (each gene included is backed by at least three independent studies); recommendations derived from them are logical conclusions, not scientifically proven. Regulations can change; errors and changes excepted.