DavaNinja, a homegrown quick-commerce medicine delivery platform, earlier this year launched a campaign featuring actress Avantika Dassani and DavaNinja’s co-founder Udai Chopra. The campaign titled ‘Game. Set. Meds’ brings a Bollywood twist-laden short video.
The aim is to underscore unforeseen daily health emergencies, emphasising DavaNinja’s dedicated approach to delivering 100% of the ordered medicines in under one hour.
The video presents Avantika and Udai mid-game in a slow-motion pickleball match that’s equal parts competitive and cinematic. In the heat of the game, during some stress, Avantika accidentally twists her ankle and, dramatically, wonders how she’ll recover.
Udai, unfazed, quickly reminds her that there’s no need to panic as DavaNinja delivers medicines in real time. The film showcases how life’s interruptions, big or small, can be tackled easily with reliable, fast healthcare support.
Medianews4u.com caught up with Udai Chopra, co-founder & CMO, DavaNinja
Q. What was the gap in the market that led to the launch of DavaNinja?
After being deeply involved in the healthcare and pharmaceutical distribution chains for over ten years, we observed several major problems that were affecting patient’s access to medicines. Online pharmacies, even after years of burning money on heavy discounting, failed to capture more than 5% of medicine orders in the country. Unpredictable delivery schedules, sporadic supply and varying costs meant that customers prefer buying offline.
However, India’s pharmaceutical industry, has over 2.5 lakh SKUs, with deep local brand preferences that change based on area, doctors recommendations. Given the small size of the 12 Lakh pharmacies in India, most can’t stock more than ten thousand products
At that point, we realized that critical medication distribution still depended on making calls to multiple pharmacies and pharmacy hopping, even though every other industry had made the transition to a digital-first convenience. Instead of starting from scratch, we launched DavaNinja to automate and expand India’s robust community of more than 12 lakh local drugstores to make inventory visibility clear and medicine delivery timely.
Q. Could you talk about the pivot from price to focusing on availability and timely delivery? How has the company benefitted?
DavaNinja began as an application for comparing drug prices among popular e-pharmacy sites. However, we quickly discovered that consumers searched for reliability, not simply the most affordable choice. As a result, we started focusing on drug availability and customer satisfaction as opposed to comparison.
Our platform ensures that consumers find their medicines first and we deliver fast in 30-60 minutes using real-time inventory information from affiliate pharmacies. We have been able to address requirements for speed, precision, and brand-level fulfillment thanks to this shift, all of which are crucial in the pharmaceutical industry. Through hyperlocal connections and an asset light model, it also generated scalability, which enabled us to expand while saving funds.
Q. Is building consumer trust a challenge and what role does having a strong brand play?
Indeed. Trust is the cornerstone of healthcare. People are purchasing life-saving medications, not snacks or cosmetics. Each interaction must feel reputable, secure, and medically competent. For this reason, we have positioned DavaNinja as a patient-first, doctor recommend and compliance-adherent service.
Transparency with live inventory developments, omnichannel prescription verification, and definitive timing of delivery fosters faith. This clarity is reflected in our branding, which stands for our pledge for reliability, accessibility, speed and efficiency. In a plethora of transactional channels, excellent branding aids in effectively communicating that commitment.
Q. There is a point of view that medicine and pharma on quick-commerce may not scale to the same extent as FMCG and groceries. Your view?
We interpret it differently – everyone requires medicines and a lot of people require medicines daily. The customer who requires prompt, accurate, and medically advised treatment will be incredibly loyal. We want to make the DavaNinja experience so seamless that people choose us, and in doing so they choose their local pharmacies too.
You don’t want to wait 48 hours after your doctor advises “Start medication straightaway.” Our approach focuses more on precision fulfilment: the right brand, right time, and right dosage. This builds trust amongst people who need recurring medicines which makes them long-lasting.
Q. Could you talk about the brainstorming with the creative agency that led to the ‘Game. Set. Meds’ campaign? What are the various legs of the campaign?
Our advertising team and I came to the realisation that while health is important, receiving it shouldn’t be an ordeal, which led to the creation of this ad. Our goal was to produce a tone that was unique, relevant, and sharp. “Game. Set. Meds.” uses sports terminology to express accuracy and speed while also reflecting our acumen and dependability.
Digital content about crucial medicine times collaborations with fitness and lifestyle influencers, and pharmacy co-branding in strategic micro-markets are some of the many facets of the campaign.
Q. What makes actress Avantika Dassani a strong brand fit?
Avantika embodies a generation that is conscious, intelligent, and appreciates ease without sacrificing legitimacy. She is young and relatable, and a natural promoter of wellbeing, which is exactly what we represent.
Additionally, she appeals to metropolitan populations who are increasingly looking for rapid, digital-first options in the healthcare industry. Her involvement allowed us to maintain the sector’s seriousness while still lightening its tone. The goal was to make medicine approachable without being frightening.
Q. What other marketing innovations can we expect moving forward? Will the media mix mainly focus on digital or will traditional media like TV, print play a role?
Digital will continue to be our primary channel, particularly for performance and education, while we build lasting partnerships with doctors and other collaborators.
Innovation will come from format as much as from media. Anticipate more expert-led myth busting, behind-the-scenes healthcare champions. and narratives centred around daily life examples of use. Our objective is to deconstruct medical trade without making it basic.
Q. What role is data analytics playing in helping the company scale and decide on price point uniformity? Which are the key markets and TGs being targetted for growth in the coming three years?
Everything we do, from associate pharmacy onboarding to supply mapping, is based on the data. To provide real-time stock comparison, our software derives from customer preferences, brand supply patterns, and prescription practices.
Additionally, we use insights to forecast demand surges, such as the flu season or the repurchase of chronic medications, and work with our partners to adjust inventory streams accordingly.
Mumbai continues to serve as our testing ground for growth, but we also have plans to expand. Working professionals, senior citizen caretakers, and chronic pharmaceutical patients who choose fast, dependable access are all part of our customer base.
Q. How does the company see AI transforming online healthcare in the coming three years? What is the opportunity here for DavaNinja?
AI has the potential to completely alter the way medical care is provided and customised. The database as a whole can be improved, from stock-predictive inventory management to digital prescription authentication.
Beyond operations, however, AI is seen to be crucial in compliance by notifying patients on refills, prompting them on dosage, and even flags possible drug interactions. Our purpose is to increase the access and accuracy of physicians and pharmacists as opposed to substituting them. Our objective is in line with AI’s ability to facilitate quicker evaluation and enhance availability in areas with limited resources.
Q. What role will Agentic AI play for DavaNinja?
It gets interesting with agentic AI. Consider a digital health advisor that not only keeps track of your prescription routine but also communicates with your drugstores, notifies your physician, and is aware of your background, including your age, comorbidities, and allergies.
With a few early collaborators, we are diligently studying this area. An enormous advancement in the administration of chronic conditions will be made possible by agentic AI, which will assist in transforming reactive health decisions into proactive treatment paths. We’re preparing for that future.
Q. What is the gameplan to expand beyond Mumbai? Has a timeframe been set for a national presence?
Our business framework has always been to solve an underlying problem in one location before expanding it superficially in many. Mumbai has served as our sandbox, assisting us in understanding hyperlocal requests, testing fulfillment logistics, and refining our community pharmacy integration approach.
We are now getting ready for launches in other top urban areas of the country and are in early planning stages of the same. Our independent method resembles our Mumbai strategy while adjusting to the unique features of every new city. Though feasible, city-wise expansion is the route, national presence is the ultimate objective.
