Farmasiet CEO: Business as Usual Is Over

– When I was invited to join the board, it was based on the rapid growth of e-commerce in Sweden and the hypothesis that the same would happen in Norway, Haug continues.

Today, she leads Farmasiet, Norway’s largest online pharmacy, and has been part of its growth journey since the company operated under the name Komplett Apotek—first as a board member for two years before taking over as CEO in 2021.

– I was motivated by the opportunity to build a company with a strong customer-centric focus and a challenger mindset.

For Haug, the decision was easy when she was asked to lead one of Norway’s most ambitious growth companies.

– I believed so strongly in Farmasiet’s growth ambitions that the choice was simple.

As former COO of Vipps and Commercial Director at Finn.no, Haug has extensive experience leading growth companies. Although Farmasiet and Vipps operate in entirely different industries, she sees many similarities between them.

Both challenge traditional models and aim to remove unnecessary friction for customers.

– Vipps and Farmasiet are actually quite similar. Payments are about people’s money, and Vipps made it easy—and even a little fun. That’s exactly how we think about pharmacies: it should be a relief not to have to pick up prescriptions in a physical store when you can have them delivered to your home.

"Nice to not have to deal with” is a phrase Haug repeats throughout the conversation, especially when discussing what defines a great digital customer experience.

– A great customer experience solves my needs in a simple and effective way. It has to be friction-free. Vipps is a great example. We could always transfer money from one account to another, but splitting a bill often led to small but annoying conversations. With Vipps, that friction disappeared. That’s a fantastic digital experience because it eliminated all the stress.

Farmasiet follows the same principle of removing friction.

– My husband and I have two kids, after-school activities to manage, a dog, and busy jobs. We neither have the time nor the desire to spend our precious free time going to a pharmacy to pick up a prescription. If you shop at Farmasiet.no, you don’t have to.

Even though online shopping has grown significantly and the number of physical stores has declined over the past decade, seven out of ten shopping kroner are still spent in physical stores in Norway, according to Virke’s 2024 Retail Report.

Has Farmasiet ever considered opening physical stores?

– First, we want to excel at what no one else in this industry is doing—being an online pharmacy. That is, and will continue to be, our core focus. That’s what we aim to be the best at. But that doesn’t mean we completely rule out a physical store in the future. It’s easy to get distracted in any industry, and as a leader, I’m focused on keeping us aligned with our goal—being the best online pharmacy.

Virke’s report also shows that pure e-commerce players generated NOK 33.2 billion in revenue in 2023. In Sweden, over 20% of the pharmacy market is online, whereas in Norway, the market share remains low.

Haug believes Norwegian shopping habits will change and that digital commerce will accelerate.

– Given Norway’s digital maturity, I see no reason why what has happened in Sweden over the past few years won’t happen here. I’m absolutely certain it will—it’s just a matter of when, she says enthusiastically.

When the conversation shifts to innovation, Haug demonstrates her outspoken strategy in real time. She jumps in her seat when asked about the balance between maintenance, “business as usual,” and innovation. “Business as usual” is a term she strongly dislikes.

– Business as usual doesn’t exist. Not politically, not economically, not in societal development. Business as usual is over—it no longer exists. There are too many moving parts, and you will never have full control.

– For us, innovation means continuous improvement. We don’t pursue radical innovation—that’s not the way we grow smart.

According to Haug, innovation and continuous improvement are about combining insight with gut instinct. This aligns well with Farmasiet’s core values: guts, fix, and smarter.

– We need to have some hypotheses about what people find a relief to avoid. We need insight into what has been tried before, what worked, what didn’t—and work continuously with that. But it’s easy to become too insight-driven and end up paralyzed. You’ll never know what works until you take a leap and actually try something new. You can’t experiment your way to everything—sometimes, you just have to go for it.

The conversation takes place in what has been described as one of Oslo’s most beautiful office buildings. In Forte Digital’s office villa at Wergelandsveien 25—a grand building with four-meter-high ceilings, stucco detailing, and original oak floors in a royal pattern—we sit in a meeting room overlooking a snow-covered winter landscape. The Royal Palace Park lies just outside the window.

Haug is a busy woman, but this time, logistics are on her side. Her next meeting is just a few steps away. Farmasiet is located in the neighboring building, sharing a cafeteria, gym, and other facilities with Forte Digital—an arrangement that has been in place since Farmasiet was established in 2019.

– We have been strategic partners with Forte since 2019 and have shared the same office space just as long—first in Henrik Ibsens gate, and now here. It’s an incredibly important collaboration because it’s about culture. For scale-ups like us and Forte, who we collaborate with matters a great deal. We genuinely support each other.

Haug explains that many consulting firms and clients have a classic customer-supplier relationship. That’s not the case for the neighbors in Wergelandsveien.

– For us, it is crucial to have partners who support our project—for reasons beyond just financial gain. It’s a strategic partnership because Forte sees us as important. We collaborate on ideas and want to figure things out together. We root for each other.

What Does Farmasiet Look Like in Five Years?

– By then, we’ll have a double-digit market share, and a lot of Norwegians will say they shop at Farmasiet. No one will say they shop at Vitusapotek, Boots, or Apotek 1—they’ll just say they shop 'at the pharmacy.' But our customers, they shop at Farmasiet. In five years, every parent I meet at my kids’ basketball games will know who Farmasiet is. Buying from an online pharmacy will be completely normal in five years.