Univers Pharmacie

What Univers Pharmacie does

Univers Pharmacie is the online pharmacy and parapharmacy storefront of Pharmacie du Centre SELAS, a licensed French pharmacy established in Colmar in 1993 and co-owned by Daniel Buchinger and Mickaël Buchinger. It was granted authorization by the Agence Régionale de la Santé (ARS Alsace) in May 2013 to commercialize medications online, and has since operated universpharmacie.fr as an e-commerce extension of the physical pharmacy. The platform catalogs more than 10,000 product references across seven verticals: medications, dietary supplements, beauty and skincare, hygiene and wellness, alternative medicine (homeopathy, aromatherapy, phytotherapy), pregnancy and baby, and veterinary products, carrying brands such as Avène, Vichy, La Roche-Posay, Nuxe, Weleda, Klorane, Bioderma, and Boiron.

The technical stack is a PrestaShop-based storefront hosted on OVH (a French certified health-data host), with 3D Secure payment processing, a mandatory medical questionnaire for first medication orders, and a pharmacist validation workflow in which every medication order is checked by a licensed pharmacist before fulfillment. Eight named pharmacists (including the two co-titulaires and six adjoints) staff the operation. The site supports SSL-encrypted card payments, PayPal, and bank transfer, and integrates Sendinblue and Probance for email marketing automation alongside Google Analytics, Matomo, and Bing Ads for analytics and acquisition. There is no mobile app, no public API, and no AI/ML components in the product surface.

Univers Pharmacie's business model is direct-to-consumer e-commerce with transaction-based pricing, free shipping on orders over €49 within metropolitan France, international delivery across the EEA via point relais pickup, and a loyalty rewards program. Customer segments are horizontal across general consumers, beauty and wellness buyers, parents and expecting families, and pet owners. Marketing is multi-channel across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, a health/wellness blog, email newsletter, and SEO. The company is privately held under the Buchinger family, structured as a SELAS with no external private equity or venture capital involvement, and operates within the Univers Pharmacie group/network of pharmacies.

Name

Univers Pharmacie

Legal name

Pharmacie du Centre SELAS

Website

https://universpharmacie.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Univers Pharmacie is the online pharmacy and parapharmacy storefront of Pharmacie du Centre SELAS in Colmar, France, offering 10,000+ SKUs across medications, beauty, supplements, baby, and veterinary products to B2C consumers, with every medication order validated by a licensed pharmacist.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Pharmacy

NAICS

Pharmacies and Drug Retailers (456110)

SIC

Retail-Drug Stores And Proprietary Stores (5912)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Pharmacy Omnichannel (CRAFAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pharmacy & Health Essentials Delivery (CRAFAFAI), Specialty Pharmacies (Complex/High-Cost Therapies) (HLAFALAC), Retail Veterinary Pharmacies (Brick-and-Mortar) (HLAMAIAE)

Keywords

• Online pharmacy
• Parapharmacy retail
• Medication dispensing
• Health and wellness
• Beauty and skincare

Headquarters

HQ city

Colmar

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Direct e-commerce sales of medications, parapharmaceutical products, beauty and care products, dietary supplements, and veterinary products through the online platform
2. Loyalty Program: Fidelity program offering rewards on purchases

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Univers Pharmacie is a licensed French online pharmacy and parapharmacy selling medications, dietary supplements, beauty and skincare products, hygiene and wellness items, alternative medicine, pregnancy and baby products, and veterinary products directly to consumers via its website and physical Colmar pharmacy. All medication orders are validated by a licensed pharmacist before dispatch, with over 10,000 product references available for purchase.

Product overview

Univers Pharmacie operates as an online pharmacy and parapharmacy platform built around its physical anchor, the Pharmacie du Centre in Colmar, France (operating since 1993). The platform offers access to over 2,000 medication references and 12,000 parapharmacy references across seven core product categories: Medications (Médicaments), Dietary Supplements (Compléments Alimentaires), Beauty and Skincare (Beauté et Soins), Hygiene and Wellness (Hygiène et Bien-être), Alternative Medicine (Médecine douce et Santé), Pregnancy and Baby (Grossesse et Bébé), and Veterinary products (Vétérinaire). All medication orders are validated by a licensed pharmacist before dispatch. The platform is complemented by a promotional section (Promotions), a loyalty program (Programme de fidélité), an online pharmacist consultation service, and an educational blog. Orders are shipped with free shipping on selections over €49 within metropolitan France.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Medications (Médicaments) Prescription and over-the-counter medications validated and verified by a licensed pharmacist before each online order is fulfilled; all medication orders undergo pharmacist review to check for drug interactions, dosage compliance, and contraindications.
• Dietary Supplements (Compléments Alimentaires) Nutritional and dietary supplements across 2,500+ references including brands such as Arkopharma, Arkogélules, Solgar, Nutergia, Pileje, and Granions, covering vitamins, minerals, herbal remedies, and specialized nutrition.
• Beauty and Skincare (Beauté et Soins) Cosmetics, skincare, and beauty products including dermatological brands such as Avène, La Roche-Posay, Vichy, Bioderma, Eucerin, Nuxe, Caudalie, Klorane, Ducray, and A-DERMA across 3,500+ references.
• Hygiene and Wellness (Hygiène et Bien-être) Personal hygiene and wellness products including oral care (Sensodyne, Elgydium, Curaprox), intimate care, and body care products across 2,100+ references.
• Alternative Medicine and Health (Médecine douce et Santé) Natural and alternative medicine products including homeopathy (Boiron), aromatherapy (Pranarom, Puressentiel, Phytosun Aroms), phytotherapy, and herbal remedies across 2,500+ references.
• Pregnancy and Baby (Grossesse et Bébé) Products for pregnancy, infant feeding, and baby care including infant formula, baby food (Blédina, Mellin, Gallia), baby hygiene, and maternity products across 500+ references.
• Veterinary (Vétérinaire) Veterinary health products for pets including Frontline, Biocanina, and other animal health brands covering antiparasitics, supplements, and care products across 300+ references.
• Online Pharmacist Consultation (Pharmacien en ligne) Online pharmacist consultation service allowing customers to ask medical and health-related questions via a contact form, with medication orders validated by a licensed pharmacist.
• Loyalty Program (Programme de fidélité) Loyalty program offering rewards and benefits to repeat customers on their purchases, structured as a recurring subscription-style benefit.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.7/5 customer rating based on 3,264 verified reviews

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• OVHminorOthersOVH provides web hosting services for the universpharmacie.fr platform. OVH is a health data-certified hosting provider based in Roubaix, France.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Parapharmazen: Parapharmazen is a French online parapharmacy focused on beauty, wellness, and OTC products from dermo-cosmetic brands. It competes with Univers Pharmacie's beauty/skincare and wellness categories for the same French B2C consumers.
• Cocooncenter: Cocooncenter is a French online parapharmacy and pharmacy retailer offering a broad catalog of medications, beauty, and wellness products with pharmacist oversight. It is a direct competitor to Univers Pharmacie in the French health & pharmacy omnichannel category.
• 1001Pharmacies: 1001Pharmacies is a French online pharmacy aggregator/marketplace selling medications and parapharmacy products from licensed partner pharmacies. It overlaps directly with Univers Pharmacie on product mix and target customer, and benefits from a marketplace model Univers Pharmacie lacks.
• LaSante.net: LaSante.net is one of the leading French online pharmacies selling prescription and OTC medications, parapharmacy, and dermo-cosmetic products to French consumers. It competes head-to-head with Univers Pharmacie on the same customer base, regulatory framework (ARS authorization), and product categories.
• Pharma Express: Pharma Express is a French online pharmacy offering medications, parapharmacy, and beauty products with pharmacist validation. It is a direct peer to Univers Pharmacie, operating in the same regulatory and product categories.

Broad incumbents

• Shop Apotheke: Shop Apotheke is a large pan-European online pharmacy operating in multiple countries including France. It is a broad incumbent in the same category, offering overlapping medication and parapharmacy assortments but at much larger scale than Univers Pharmacie.
• Pharmacie Lafayette: Pharmacie Lafayette is a French network of independent pharmacies with a strong online presence across parapharmacy and OTC categories. It competes with Univers Pharmacie for French consumers seeking trusted pharmacy-led health and beauty shopping.
• DocMorris: DocMorris is a major European online pharmacy with a French storefront, selling medications and health/wellness products. It is a broad incumbent competing for cross-border demand that Univers Pharmacie also targets through its EEA delivery channel.
• Amazon France (Health & Personal Care): Amazon France offers a broad health, personal care, and OTC assortment with fast fulfillment. It is a broad incumbent that competes with Univers Pharmacie on price, assortment depth, and delivery speed, even if it does not dispense prescription medications.

Others

• Boiron (Direct): Boiron is a major French homeopathic pharmaceutical manufacturer. Univers Pharmacie stocks Boiron's homeopathic line and competes indirectly by offering broader pharmacist-curated alternative medicine assortments, making Boiron an adjacent/ecosystem participant rather than a direct retail competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LeSiteUniversPharmacie.fr
• Instagraminstagram.com/universpharmacie.fr
• TikToktiktok.com/@universpharmaciefr
• Pinterestpinterest.fr/universpharmacie
• Xx.com/universpharmafr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/univers-pharmacie

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Univers Pharmacie