VNA

Name

VNA

Legal name

Stichting Verenigde Nederlandse Apotheken

Website

https://vna.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Pharmacy Support Services

NAICS

Pharmacies and Drug Retailers (45611), Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292)

SIC

Retail-Drug Stores And Proprietary Stores (5912), Wholesale-Drugs, Proprietaries & Druggists' Sundries (5122)

akta.pro primary industry

Pharmacy Benefit/Channel Services (PSAO, 340B Admin, Chargebacks/Rebates Ops) (CRAOAHAK)

Keywords

• Pharmacy succession services
• Pharmacy acquisition financing
• Independent pharmacy support
• Pharmacist training program
• Pharmacy management services

Headquarters

HQ city

Amersfoort

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Pharmacy succession and management services: VNA facilitates pharmacy takeovers and manages the ownership transition. Pharmacists enter as foundation pharmacists (stichtingsapotheker), progress through co-ownership (vennoot), and eventually achieve full ownership. VNA finances the pharmacy acquisition and assumes the financing risk, generating revenue through the appreciation of its pharmacy portfolio and shared ownership returns.
2. Traineeship and training services: VNA offers a two-year traineeship for registration pharmacists (ApIOSsen), fully financing their education and providing salary. This acts as an upstream pipeline converting trainees into eventual pharmacy owners, creating long-term revenue streams for the foundation.
3. Collective purchasing and group activities: VNA organizes collective activities for affiliated pharmacies, including purchasing agreements, shared insurance (calamiteitendekking), and group events. Revenue is derived from collective bargaining advantages and group purchasing economies that benefit both VNA and its members.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

VNA is a Dutch foundation (Stichting) that supports independent community pharmacists by financing pharmacy acquisitions, managing ownership transitions through a four-phase career model (trainee to full owner), and providing collective purchasing, administrative, IT (MijnVNA portal), and business support services. It operates a network of more than 150 pharmacies across the Netherlands, served by approximately 120 affiliated pharmacists and 1,500 pharmacy professionals.

Product overview

VNA (Stichting Verenigde Nederlandse Apotheken) is a foundation supporting independent community pharmacists in the Netherlands. The organization operates as a platform offering multiple interconnected services: the VNA Traineeship program that prepares young pharmacists for pharmacy ownership during their registration phase, pharmacy acquisition and transfer services that enable pharmacists to take over or hand over pharmacies without financing risk, the VNA Actueel Magazine as a publication keeping members informed, and the Mijn VNA digital portal for member services. With 150 pharmacies and 120 affiliated pharmacists, VNA provides collective benefits, training, and business support while preserving independent community pharmacy in the Netherlands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VNA Traineeship A comprehensive two-year training program for registration pharmacists (ApIOSsen) that combines the registration phase to become openbaar apotheker specialist with practical exposure to entrepreneurship in pharmacy, including intensive coaching from certified pharmacist trainers and external talent coaches.
• Pharmacy Acquisition Support End-to-end support for pharmacists acquiring or handing over pharmacies, in which VNA organizes the purchase, finances the acquisition, assumes the financing risk, and provides pharmaceutical and business support through a structured four-phase progression from foundation pharmacist to full owner.
• Mijn VNA Portal Online member portal (MijnVNA) for affiliated pharmacists providing an overview of business performance, benchmarking against other VNA pharmacies, and access to administrative and operational services.
• VNA Actueel Magazine Bimonthly digital and print magazine for VNA members featuring pharmacy takeover stories, interviews with network members, day-in-the-life profiles, renovation information, collective activities, event recaps, and industry news.

Quantifiable outcome

• VNA manages over 150 pharmacies across the Netherlands
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vereniging van Jonge Apothekers (VJA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVNA and VJA have collaborated for five years on joint activities including the VJA-VNA Summer Event, Avond van de Ondernemer (Evening of the Entrepreneur), VNA courses for VJA members, and cross-promotion on social media. The partnership was expanded in 2020 to include the VNA Traineeship, which prepares young pharmacists for entrepreneurship in independent pharmacy. VJA President Denise van Vessem endorsed the traineeship as a valuable complement to pharmacy education. The collaboration is anchored in a shared mission: ensuring the future of independent community pharmacy by helping young pharmacists develop professionally and entrepreneurially.
• KNMP (Koninklijke Nederlandse Maatschappij ter bevordering der Pharmacie)minorOthersThe KNMP is the Dutch professional association for pharmacists. VNA aligns its traineeship programme with the KNMP's national training plan for registration pharmacists (ApIOSsen), uses KNMP guidelines for pharmacy practice, and participates in KNMP activities. VNA Actueel magazine frequently quotes KNMP leadership and covers KNMP topics. KNMP President Aris Prins has contributed to VNA publications on the importance of local pharmacy care.
• GGD (Gemeentelijke Gezondheidsdienst)minorOthersDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, VNA advocated for and successfully arranged for pharmacy staff to access GGD coronavirus testing facilities. This was a temporary but significant partnership to ensure continuity of pharmacy services during the public health crisis.
• Zilveren Kruis (Health Insurer)minorOthersVNA pharmacies contract with Zilveren Kruis (and other Dutch health insurers) for pharmaceutical care provision. The ICT commission in the Gooi region includes Zilveren Kruis representatives. VNA's collective negotiating strength improves contract terms for affiliated pharmacies.
• Stichting PrivacyzorgminorOthersVNA has appointed a Data Protection Officer (Functionaris Gegevensbescherming, FG) through Stichting Privacyzorg, represented by Mw. E. de Waal, who is registered with the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP) under number FG008380. This ensures GDPR compliance for VNA's data processing activities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ApotheekZorg: Dutch pharmacy group managing multiple community pharmacy locations. Comparable as a multi-site Dutch pharmacy operator competing for the same retail pharmacy market, though organised as a private group rather than a foundation.
• BENU Apotheek: One of the largest Dutch pharmacy chains (part of Phoenix Group), directly competing for retail pharmacy customers in the same Dutch market. Comparable as a retail pharmacy operator serving Dutch consumers, though it is a corporate chain rather than an independent-owner support model.
• Mediq Apotheek: Dutch pharmacy chain operating retail pharmacies across the Netherlands. Comparable as a competing Dutch retail pharmacy network, though it operates as a corporate-owned chain versus VNA's independent-owner foundation model.

Others

• KNMP (Koninklijke Nederlandse Maatschappij ter bevordering der Pharmacie): Royal Dutch Pharmacists Association, the national professional body for pharmacists. Comparable because VNA's traineeship aligns with KNMP's national training plan for registration pharmacists and KNMP leadership regularly appears in VNA publications — making it a partner and ecosystem anchor rather than a direct competitor.
• Alliance Healthcare Nederland: Dutch pharmaceutical wholesaler and pre-wholesale operator (Walgreens Boots Alliance). Comparable as a wholesale/distribution counterpart serving Dutch community pharmacies, and as an ecosystem participant competing for the same independent pharmacy customer relationships.
• Vereniging van Jonge Apothekers (VJA): Dutch association for young pharmacists. Comparable because VNA has a five-year-plus strategic partnership with VJA on events, training, and cross-promotion that anchors VNA's trainee recruitment pipeline — making it a referral and community partner rather than a competitor.
• Brocacef Groep (Phoenix Group NL): Dutch pharmaceutical wholesale and pharmacy retail group (part of Phoenix Group). Comparable as a counterparty in collective purchasing and pharmacy distribution that VNA member pharmacies transact with, and as a channel-services provider for Dutch pharmacies.

Emerging players

• Good Neighbor Pharmacy (Cencora): US independent pharmacy network affiliated with Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen). Comparable as a network-services organisation supporting independent community pharmacies with purchasing, marketing and operational tooling — the US analogue to VNA's MijnVNA and collective-purchasing support offering.
• Health Mart (McKesson): US-based independent pharmacy network franchised through McKesson. Comparable as a network-support model for independent pharmacies offering collective purchasing, branding and operational services — the closest international analogue to VNA's foundation-based independent pharmacy support model, albeit in a different regulatory and ownership context.

Direct peers

• Service Apotheek: Dutch franchise/chain organisation for independent community pharmacies; comparable because it supports independent pharmacy owners with collective purchasing, marketing, IT and operational services — directly overlapping with VNA's collective-purchasing and MijnVNA-style support offering, though it operates a franchise rather than foundation model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stichtingvna

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 VNA