Interview: Supporting pharmacies to deliver OTC meds with Just Eat

LUDA Partners is a Madrid-based tech company that specialises in helping pharmacies to digitalise and reducing the impact of medicine shortages. The company recently partnered with Just Eat, enabling its network of over 3,700 pharmacies to deliver OTC medicines via the popular take out platform. The Pharmacist sits down with LUDA Partners co-founder Luis Martín Lázaro to discuss the most popular pharmacy product orders in the UK, the success of the partnership and his future goals for the company.

Emily Warner (EW): How did the partnership between LUDA Partners and Just Eat UK come about?

Luis Martín Lázaro (LM): It was a no brainer for us. We are already partners with Just Eat in Spain, where there are thousands of pharmacies with us, and we just want to make access to pharmacy essentials faster and easier.

We saw the opportunity in the UK because there were only a few pharmacy products available and it was underdeveloped, so we began operating there in January 2025. Pharmacies are already doing a great job offline, and we want to replicate that success online.

EW: How could a pharmacy get involved, and how many already are?

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LM: We have more than 200 pharmacies in the UK, and 100 in Ireland. The partnership is open to all pharmacies – we specialise in medium groups and individual pharmacies. We want them to be able to offer their products in the simplest way to a very broad customer base which is what Just Eat is offering.

To get involved, pharmacies can just contact LUDA Partners and we’ll be happy to enrol them. We manage the orders and cancellations so that it’s a smooth, seamless process. It’s a difficult thing to do by yourself if you’re not part of a big pharmacy group with a catalogue and pictures and descriptions.

Participating pharmacies can only deliver to their nearby area.

EW: What is your business plan?

LM: We have a very clear business plan. The first thing is expanding the network of pharmacies we work with because the UK has a lot of customers. And the second thing is expanding the catalogue. Right now, we offer about 7000 products, but we want to expand it more and bring more satisfaction to customers.

In the near future, we also want to expand to offer P medicines which we are already doing in Spain. A common problem across the whole continent is medicine shortages. You go to a pharmacy, and they don’t have the medicine you need. We [help with this problem in Spain by] connecting pharmacies so they have a shared catalogue of medicines, and we want to expand that to mitigate the effect of medicine shortages in the UK too.

EW: How successful has the partnership been in the UK?

LM: We are very happy with the UK. At the beginning, we only tried operating in Ireland because it’s a smaller market and we thought it was going to be easier, but the UK is now growing way faster than Ireland. We have grown by 70% month on month since January. I cannot give an exact figure, but the number of orders we are receiving is in the thousands.

We are allocating a lot of resources to the UK and this is a very good way for small, independent pharmacies to reach a broader audience.

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EW: What are the most commonly ordered OTC medicines?

LM: Pain, cold and flu medication is very common as you might imagine. Allergies is also a big thing since Just Eat can deliver very quickly, within 30 minutes. In England, fake tanning is surprisingly popular and so are Covid and pregnancy tests.

The top five items across all pharmacy partners in the UK, according to Just Eat, are:

1. Baby Wipes
2. Toothpaste
3. Covid tests
4. Pregnancy Tests
5. Sanitary towels

EW: What is the process of ordering pharmacy products through the Just Eat app or website?

LM: The process is very simple. You go into the app, you go to the pharmacy section or search for pharmacy products, and then you select what you want and checkout. It will then be delivered in 30 to 45 minutes. The medicines will arrive separately from any food you have ordered – you won’t get a hamburger nearby your medicines – but the process is the same as ordering food from a supermarket.

We love the partnership with Just Eat because they are very good at user experience and the convenience of having your order is amazing.

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EW: How do you hope to expand the partnership over the next decade?

LM: We connect pharmacies to marketplaces, to quick commerce and big pharmaceutical companies. We put pharmacy in the middle of the online world because they are already in the middle of the offline world.

We are very focused on the UK at the moment but in the future, we want to be the leading digital pharmacy network. Right now, we operate in three countries – Spain, the UK and Ireland – but we hope to expand to France, Italy and eventually the whole of Europe.