The pharmacy is being unbundled. In one week, NHS England widened Pharmacy First, New South Wales moved pharmacists into chronic care, Musinsa opened a beauty store in Seoul with a licensed pharmacy in the basement, Eucerin, Avène and Ducray moved onto Amazon in Germany, Amazon Pharmacy put licensed pharmacists on the phone 24/7 in Spanish, and Welcia placed dietitians on the drugstore floor in Japan. Six signals, one shift: the product, the professional and the place no longer have to stay together.
In this weekly update of The Healthusiasm Podcast, Christophe Jauquet and his AI co-host Thalia Muses unpack what the unbundled pharmacy means for pharmacies, pharma and skincare brands, retailers and everyone competing for the trusted health relationship. A consumer-driven health story about health showing up wherever people already are.
The signals (last 10 days)
- England — NHS Pharmacy First expands (10 Sep 2026). Around 14 million pharmacy consultations so far, 7 million for the seven Pharmacy First conditions. From this autumn, selected pharmacies add adult migraine, hay fever in children, outer-ear infections, mild to moderate acne and mild skin infections. NHS estimate: another 2–3 million consultations a year.
- Australia — New South Wales widens pharmacist care (10 Sep 2026). Up to 250 extra pharmacists for nausea, reflux, allergic rhinitis, mild acne and muscle and joint problems; oral contraception; more vaccines from 2027; and a trial of pharmacy support for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and COPD.
- Seoul — Musinsa Beauty store with a licensed pharmacy (11 Sep 2026). Four floors of beauty in Hongdae; the entire basement is Beauty Onnuri Pharmacy, independently operated within the Onnuri network and organised around problems: hair and scalp, acne and blemishes, sensitive skin.
- Germany — pharmacy skincare moves onto Amazon. Pierre Fabre (Avène, Ducray) and Beiersdorf (Eucerin) admit Amazon as an approved direct retailer within their selective distribution. Avène alone sells 6 million+ packs a year through German pharmacy channels, close to €120 million, almost 40% already online.
- United States — Amazon Pharmacy in Spanish (9 Sep 2026). The whole journey in Spanish: medication information, refills, delivery updates, chat and licensed pharmacists by phone, 24 hours a day.
- Japan — Welcia × Tsukuba × Alfresa (1 Sep 2026). Five-month trial with the Calomil meal-photo app (7 million+ users, 28 nutrients tracked); products linked to recommendations in 20 stores, and a registered dietitian on the floor in three.
Why it matters
For decades the pharmacy was three things in one place: the product, the professional and the physical building. Now the product travels to Amazon, the professional appears on a phone or a shop floor, and the pharmacy appears inside a beauty store or takes on chronic care. Once the bundle loosens, companies recombine it: beauty store plus pharmacy, online shop plus pharmacist, drugstore plus dietitian, community pharmacy plus chronic care. Pharmacy competition used to be about location and price. The next competition is about who owns the trusted health relationship: who is easiest to reach, who feels credible, and which professional you put around the customer. Pharmacies are not disappearing. Qualified human advice becomes more valuable, and less tied to one building. This is Healthusiasm: health starts wherever people already are.
The Monday-morning question
Not “where should we sell our product?” but “where does our customer need trusted help, and who is the right person to provide it?”
Also mentioned: Pharmacy First, K-Health (episode #69), Onnuri Pharmacy, Tsuruha, Beiersdorf skin experts, prevention by architecture, transactions to transformations.
Chapters
00:00 Four signals, one shift: the pharmacy is being unbundled
01:15 Product, professional and place no longer have to stay together
01:25 England: NHS Pharmacy First and 14 million consultations
02:20 The NHS expansion: migraine, hay fever, ear infections, acne, skin infections
03:18 Lowering the emotional cost of asking for help
03:57 Two to three million extra consultations: replacement or earlier help?
04:58 Australia: New South Wales widens the pharmacist’s role
05:49 Pharmacists in chronic care: high blood pressure and COPD
07:09 From transactions to continuity (and transformations)
07:58 The capacity problem: judge by whether patients get the right care
08:29 Seoul: Musinsa opens a beauty store with a licensed pharmacy
09:20 Beauty Onnuri Pharmacy: organised around problems, not brands
11:05 K-Health: the pharmacy as part of everyday wellbeing
11:49 Germany: Eucerin, Avène and Ducray move onto Amazon
12:59 Selective distribution: the product travels, the pharmacy keeps the advice
13:57 Running on two tracks: Amazon and pharmacy expertise
14:49 The three pieces come apart: product, professional, place
15:22 Amazon Pharmacy in Spanish: the pharmacist as a 24/7 service
16:51 Japan: Welcia puts a dietitian on the drugstore floor
18:57 The bigger pattern: unbundle, then recombine
20:38 The new competition: who owns the trusted health relationship
22:08 Several pharmacies, several pharmacists: what is the building good for?
24:06 Lesson of the week: more valuable, less tied to a building
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