What EasyApotheke does

easyApotheke (Holding) AG is the central Systemzentrale of a German pharmacy cooperation (Kooperation) operating ~150 franchise-style partner pharmacies across Germany and Austria, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Düsseldorf. Its core product is the easyApotheke Store-Konzept, which combines pharmaceutical consultation with retail-style self-service — typically 3,500+ OTC/Self-service products, separate consulting and checkout zones, automated dispensing (Kommissionierautomaten), and high-footfall locations in retail parks. Around this format, the holding bundles a multi-module partner stack: GS1-certified Category Management (easyOTC, easyBeauty), a Click & Collect e-commerce platform mapped to each store's local assortment of 100,000+ articles, the easyApp for e-prescription and ordering (35,000+ users), centralized digital marketing across 250+ social channels reaching 35M+ users, easyRecruitment staffing support, easyAcademy training, and the easyCare/easyWorking employee programs.

The company earns revenue from two layers: (1) franchise and licensing fees paid by independent pharmacist partners who own and operate each store under German pharmacy ownership law, with multi-year cooperation contracts and a 30,000 EUR equity entry point for new founders; and (2) the consolidated retail turnover of the partner network, which reached ~575 million EUR in 2024 (+15% YoY vs ~6% market growth) with an average of ~4.3 million EUR per store and a Non-RX mix of ~40% — roughly 2.5x the traditional pharmacy benchmark. Go-to-market targets licensed pharmacists via three concepts (easyStartup for new founders, Switch for converting existing stores, and the 2024-launched Konzeptpartnerschaft for brand-agnostic partnerships), supplemented by an Agenturpartnerschaft that sells digital services to non-member pharmacies. Key commercial partners include L'Oréal Cosmétique Active (Category Captain for dermocosmetics), BD Rowa (dispensing automation), and PHARMATECHNIK (pharmacy IT), and the company has been voted Germany's best pharmacy cooperation for seven consecutive years.

Name

EasyApotheke

Legal name

easyApotheke (Holding) AG

Website

https://easyapotheke.ag

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

easyApotheke (Holding) AG is a Düsseldorf-based pharmacy cooperation operating ~150 franchise-style easyApotheken across Germany and Austria. It licenses a standardized retail-pharmacy concept — combining self-service OTC with traditional consultation — to independent pharmacist partners, while bundling central services such as category management, Click & Collect, digital marketing, and recruitment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Düsseldorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Franchise/Kooperation Licensing Fees: Independent pharmacist partners (Kooperationspartner) operate easyApotheke pharmacies under a licensing/franchise model. They pay fees to the holding company for use of the brand, concept, marketing, Category Management, and central services. Partners remain independently owned and operated by licensed pharmacists as required by German law.
2. Pharmacy Retail Sales (Rx + Non-Rx): The ~142 partner pharmacies generate revenue through prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC/Freiwahl) product sales. The group-wide external turnover reached ~575 million EUR in 2024. easyApotheken achieve 40% Non-RX share vs ~15% for traditional pharmacies, with ~4.3 million EUR average annual turnover per pharmacy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

easyApotheke (Holding) AG licenses a pharmacy cooperation/franchise system — brand identity, retail concept, and a central services stack (Category Management, Digital Marketing, Purchasing, Recruitment, Training) — to approximately 150 independent partner pharmacies across Germany and Austria, and operates the connecting omnichannel infrastructure (online shop, easyApp, Click & Collect, E-Rezept). Partner pharmacies enter via three models: easyStartup (new founding), Switch (conversion of existing pharmacies to the concept), and Konzeptpartnerschaft (concept adoption while retaining original identity), with easyDirekt GmbH extending agency services to digital-only pharmacy operators.

Product overview

EasyApotheke operates as a pharmacy cooperation with approximately 150 franchise pharmacies in Germany and Austria. The core offering is the distinctive easyApotheke Store-Konzept - a modern pharmacy concept combining pharmaceutical competence with retail-style self-service shopping. The product portfolio centers on the physical store format with large OTC freiwahl (self-service) areas alongside traditional pharmacy consultation, supported by digital services including an Online-Shop/Click & Collect platform, the easyApp with e-prescription services, and Social Media & Digital Marketing support. Key modules include easyBeauty (dermocosmetics category management), easyOTC (optimized product display), easyRecruitment (staffing), easyAcademy (training), and easyCare (retirement benefits). The company offers multiple partnership models: easyStartup for new founders, Switch-Lösung for converting existing pharmacies, Konzeptpartnerschaft for brand-adjacent partnerships, and Agenturpartnerschaft for digital-only clients. Recently founded easyDirekt GmbH to consolidate direct business operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• easyBeauty: Category management concept for dermocosmetics developed in cooperation with partners like L'Oréal Cosmétique Active Division, focusing on beauty shopping experience in pharmacies.
• easyRecruitment
• Konzeptpartnerschaft
• easyStartup
• easyCare
• easyAcademy
• easyWorking

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BVDAK (Bundesverband Deutscher Apothekenkooperationen e.V.)coreOthers · 1 January 2025BVDAK is the industry association for pharmacy cooperatives in Germany. easyApotheke (Holding) AG is a member and Lars Horstmann, CEO, serves on its board. easyApotheke actively participates in the association's advocacy for pharmacy cooperation interests.
• BD Rowa (Becton Dickinson)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024BD Rowa provides automation solutions for medication storage and picking (Kommissionierautomaten) that make pharmacy processes more efficient and less error-prone, reduce team workload, and free up time for consulting and customer service. BD Rowa, easyApotheke, and PHARMATECHNIK jointly host events and provide a holistic concept for pharmacy success.
• PHARMATECHNIKcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024PHARMATECHNIK provides comprehensive IT solutions for digitalizing core pharmacy processes from inventory management to billing, increasing transparency and legal security and enabling efficient, competitive operations management. Together with easyApotheke and BD Rowa, PHARMATECHNIK presents a three-partner initiative for pharmacy success.
• HaleonminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Haleon is one of the partners in the 'Gemeinsam grüner!' (Together Greener!) sustainability initiative. For every online order placed during August 2023 via Click & Collect or mail order, easyApotheke donated €1 to Stiftung Unternehmen Wald for reforestation projects in Germany.
• Salus (Natural Health Products)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Salus is a partner in the 'Gemeinsam grüner!' sustainability initiative alongside Haleon, easyApotheke, and Medice, supporting reforestation efforts in Germany.
• MediceminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Medice is a partner in the 'Gemeinsam grüner!' sustainability initiative alongside Haleon, easyApotheke, and Salus, supporting reforestation efforts in Germany.
• Stiftung Unternehmen WaldminorOthers · 1 January 2023Stiftung Unternehmen Wald (Foundation for Company Forests) is the non-profit beneficiary of the 'Gemeinsam grüner!' initiative. easyApotheke donated €1 per online order during August 2023 to support regional reforestation projects in Germany.
• L'Oréal Cosmétique Active Deutschland & ÖsterreichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022L'Oréal and easyApotheke co-developed the 'easyBeauty' Category Management concept for dermocosmetics. L'Oréal acts as 'Category Captain' driving the development of the stationary pharmacy channel. L'Oréal management (including the Europe President) visits easyApotheken annually to exchange views on market needs and digital challenges. easyApotheke is a key business partner for L'Oréal in the OTC/dermocosmetics segment.
• E-Rezept-Enthusiasten (ePrescription Enthusiasts Association)minorOthers · 1 January 2022easyApotheke is a member of the 'E-Rezept-Enthusiasten', a newly formed association dedicated to promoting the e-prescription (E-Rezept) across German pharmacies. easyApotheke positions itself as a leader in e-prescription readiness, using this membership to advocate for rapid, nationwide e-prescription adoption for the benefit of stationary pharmacies.
• L'Oréal (Global — Jean-Paul Agon, Nicolas Hieronimus, Brigitte Liberman)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019L'Oréal's global CEO Jean-Paul Agon and executive team visited easyApotheken in Düsseldorf alongside the German management team. The annual visits are part of L'Oréal's commitment to understanding the German pharmacy market and strengthening the dermocosmetics partnership. Three pharmacies were visited including one easyApotheke franchise location.
• GS1 GermanycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2018GS1 provides the standards framework (GS1 standard, GS1-certified Category Management) that underpins easyApotheke's entire category management approach, from product identification and tracking to shelf optimization using shopping decision trees.
• ratiopharm (Teva)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2018ratiopharm participated in the easyOTC Category Management concept development, contributing its own market research results to the co-creation process.
• Bayer (Germany)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2018Bayer participated in the easyOTC Category Management concept development, contributing its own market research results.
• Hexal (Sandoz)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2018Hexal participated in the easyOTC Category Management concept development, contributing its own market research results.
• Procter & Gamble (Germany)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2018Procter & Gamble participated in the easyOTC Category Management concept development, contributing its own market research results.
• Reckitt Benckiser (Germany)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2018Reckitt Benckiser participated in the easyOTC Category Management concept development, contributing its own market research results.

Scale indicators26 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/easyApotheke.Inside

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 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 EasyApotheke