Loba

What Loba does

Loba (legal entity Loba Wellness Inc.) is a Canadian consumer wellness company headquartered in British Columbia that produced the Loba Smart Pill Organizer — a WiFi-connected pill organizer with customizable LED notifications and removable AM/PM compartments — paired with a companion mobile app. The app was offered in two tiers: a free Basic tier providing twice-daily reminders, push notifications, in-app logging, habit tracking, achievement unlocks, and a content layer of health/wellness topics and daily inspirational quotes; and a paid Premium tier adding ad-free experience, unlimited custom reminder times, advanced scheduling options, and theme choices. The company was founded in 2021 and operated for approximately five years as a female-founded indie venture led by CEO and founder Kate Bouchard.

The product was sold direct-to-consumer through a Shopify-powered storefront at shoploba.com (supporting CAD and USD) and was distributed alongside iOS and Android apps on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Marketing relied heavily on earned media — including product features in The New York Times Wirecutter, BCBusiness, VITA, and Vancouver Tech Journal — and on customer testimonials. Disclosed funding totaled roughly $169,580 across a September 2022 round (~$152,109) and two small February 2024 tranches (~$10,000 and $7,471), with no named institutional investors, no M&A activity, and no patents filed.

Loba has announced it is winding down operations; the app has been removed from both app stores and existing installed users are informed that features may degrade over time. The wind-down, combined with the company’s small headcount (1–10), lack of institutional capital, and absence of a recurring enterprise or healthcare-channel revenue stream, frames Loba as a lifestyle hardware indie that scaled via earned media rather than venture-backed growth.

Name

Loba

Legal name

Loba Wellness Inc.

Website

https://shoploba.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Loba (Loba Wellness Inc.) was a female-founded Canadian DTC company that sold a WiFi-connected smart pill organizer and companion reminder app to individual consumers managing daily medication and supplement routines, before winding down operations after five years.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smart Health Devices

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Medication Adherence & Smart Drug Delivery (Connected Inhalers, Pens, Pill Dispensers) (HLACAPAH)

Keywords

• Smart pill organizer
• Medication adherence devices
• Connected health hardware
• Wellness consumer electronics
• Pill reminder application

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Smart Pill Organizer Hardware: One-time purchase of the Loba Smart Pill Organizer device - a Wifi-connected pill box with customizable LED lights and removable AM/PM compartments
2. Loba Premium Subscription: Optional paid subscription tier offering ad-free experience, unlimited custom pill reminder times, additional scheduling options (every-other day, custom days of week), and choice of app colour themes (Coffee, Aubergine, Forest)
3. Loba Basic (Freemium): Free tier providing pill/supplement tracking, twice-daily reminders, weekly organizing reminders, LED customization (device required), push notifications, in-app logging, achievements, health news, and inspirational content

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Loba designs and sells a Wifi-connected smart pill organizer with customizable LED lights and removable AM/PM compartments, paired with a companion mobile app (Loba App) that provides pill/supplement tracking, push notification reminders, habit logging, and a freemium/premium subscription model. The product targets individual consumers managing daily medication and supplement routines, emphasizing high-end aesthetic finishes suitable for home display.

Product overview

Loba is a smart pill organizer system consisting of the Loba Smart Pill Organizer (a WiFi-connected hardware device with customizable LED lights and AM/PM compartments) paired with the Loba App (available in free Basic and paid Premium tiers). The system helps users track supplements and medications, receive timely reminders through the app and LED lights on the device, and maintain consistent wellness routines. Note: Loba announced it is winding down operations after 5 years of business.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Users report not missing pills/supplements after adopting Loba

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform powering shoploba.com storefront for product sales and payments including Shop Pay integration
• Apple (App Store)coreTechnology or IntegrationMobile app distribution platform for iOS devices
• Google (Google Play)coreTechnology or IntegrationMobile app distribution platform for Android devices

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Hero (formerly Hero Health): Hero is the closest direct peer: a WiFi-connected smart pill dispenser with a companion app that sorts, reminds, and dispenses medications for home users. Same hardware-plus-DTC-subscription model and same target customer (medication/supplement adherence at home).
• MedMinder: MedMinder builds connected pill dispensers with cellular alerts and a caregiver portal, targeting seniors and chronic patients. Directly comparable connected dispenser category and adherence-monitoring use case to Loba.
• Livi: Livi (by AceAge) is a connected pill dispenser that pre-sorts medications and reminds users via lights and chimes. Direct head-to-head competitor in the connected-at-home pill dispenser category.
• PillDrill: PillDrill was a smart pill organizer with an app, NFC scanning, and a separate reminder hub. Direct comparable product concept that, like Loba, ceased operations—useful as a peer precedent on outcome.

Emerging players

• Medisafe: Medisafe is the leading app-only medication reminder platform with reminders, adherence tracking, and caregiver sharing. Comparable in the app and behavior-change layer of Loba's offering, though without the hardware dispenser.
• TabTimer: TabTimer makes vibrating and timed pillbox reminders as standalone hardware. Comparable in the medication-reminder category though with simpler hardware and no smartphone app integration.
• CareZone: CareZone is a digital medication management app with reminders, refill coordination, and caregiver sharing. Comparable to Loba's app layer and an adjacent competitor for the same adherence-focused consumer.

Broad incumbents

• Pria by Stanley Black & Decker: Pria was a smart pill dispenser companion robot launched by Stanley Black & Decker before being discontinued. A relevant incumbent peer that exited the same niche Loba competes in.

Regional players

• Simple Meds: Simple Meds is a US-based online pharmacy that combines medication packaging with adherence support. Comparable adjacent business model that pairs physical medication handling with adherence technology.

Others

• Emerson Innovation Center - Pria/RxPense: RxPense and similar hospital-grade automated medication dispensers offer connected adherence for clinical and home settings. Comparable adjacent hardware category though targeted at higher-acuity use cases than Loba's consumer wellness positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LobaPillOrganizers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Loba