Tonic app: Local medicine delivery when you can’t get to the chemist

A locally-designed app delivers medicine to your doorfor those times you just can’t get to the chemist

It took a stressed-out dad to think of it. Ascot’s Adam Gilmore was waiting in line at the chemist, a sick and upset toddler in his arms, when the idea for Tonic – an app that delivers doctor’s scripts to your door – first came to him.

“She was really sick and we’d taken her to the doctor,” Adam recalls. “We went directly to the pharmacy but it took almost 30 minutes from arriving to leaving, by which time my daughter was beside herself. All we wanted to do was take her home to bed and comfort her, so delivery instantly made sense.”

Ascot dad Adam Gilmore of Tonic, an app which delivers doctor’s scripts
and over-the-counter medication to your door. Photo: Russell Shakespeare/AAP

A year later, in January 2018, Adam and his business partner Guy McKenzie launched Tonic, “a super simple” app that delivers medicine to your home in the same way Uber Eats brings a pizza or Thai takeaway.

You just download the app, create an account, snap a photo of your scripts or browse for over-the-counter products, link your credit card and order the delivery for your preferred time and place. Delivery is $5 and you can track your parcel on the app’s live map until it arrives in its secure packaging.

Tonic app founders Guy McKenzie and Adam Gilmore

Adam says customer feedback has been positive, with Tonic popular among busy mums, office workers, people with mobility issues – such as broken legs or for those recovering from eye surgery who physically cannot get to a pharmacy, and elderly people with chronic conditions.

“There are many cases of sick kids who are at home with one parent, and by using Tonic their parents are then able to stay at home with them while Tonic does the legwork to get the medication needed without the hassle of getting the child to travel while they’re ill,” Adam, 33, says.

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“And there are people who avoid pharmacies due to anxiety. For example, we’ve had a customer from the transgender community who feels nervous going into a chemist to pick up their medication and instead turned to Tonic for delivery.”

You get groceries and takeaway meals delivered, so why not medicine? The Tonic app allows you to choose your preferred time and place for delivery, and charges a $5 delivery fee.

Adam and Guy have been working in the pharmacy/tech space for about a decade, having previously worked in data analytics, providing drug manufacturers, pharmacy groups and individual pharmacies with simple solutions to improve business profitability and efficiency.

“This gave us the insight into what is important to patients and ultimately led to the concept of Tonic,” Adam says.

“We’ve been growing month on month, which is very exciting. We’ve also recently partnered with House Call Doctor to allow after-hours doctors to prescribe medication directly to Tonic and let patients who are too sick to leave the house get medication brought directly to them.”

Adam says Brisbane was the ideal place to launch his start-up and he is “incredibly inspired” by success stories coming out of Queensland.

“Seeing businesses meet a real need that is not currently being met and doing it with love, passion and dedication is truly inspirational. Hearing our customers tell us how what we’re doing is improving their lives makes it all worthwhile.”

tonicapp.com.au