In June 2021, Tata Digital, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tata group, acquired a majority stake in the online pharmacy 1mg (now Tata 1mg). The deal, worth $220-240 Mn for an estimated 51-60% stake, was a mix of primary infusion and secondary buyouts. It pegged the healthtech platform’s valuation at about $450 Mn, nearly double its pre-acquisition worth.

The deal was a strategic anchor for the Tata group’s digital health ambitions. In fact, 1mg’s e-pharmacy, diagnostics and telehealth services were positioned as a significant value addition to strengthen the Tata Neu superapp. The transaction happened when Reliance Industries had already snapped up the e-pharma portal Netmeds to cement its health tech presence.

For 1mg, the acquisition enabled capital, scale and brand equity without altering its core, which was built on sound business values long before the Tatas came in. Given the shared value system, the integration felt more like a natural evolution than a reinvention.

“We have always leaned heavily on trust and authenticity. So, the synergy with the Tatas felt quite natural. We were already pursuing the very principles the group is known for,” Prateek Verma, senior vice president at Tata 1mg, told Inc42 in a recent interaction for the ongoing CMO Code series.

Verma has been part of the journey since 1mg’s early days, first at HealthKart, where the platform started as HealthKart Plus, and later through its spin-off as an independent brand in 2015. Over the years, the IIT Kanpur alumnus — he did his B.Tech in material science and metallurgical engineering — led diagnostics, product and the e-pharmacy business. His cross-functional experience across critical domains played a major role as Tata 1mg strategically blended consumer trust, design and communication to stand out in India’s crowded healthtech space.

The acquisition also marked a subtle but significant shift in the brand narrative. “We were no longer a transactional platform. We wanted to bring ‘care’ back into healthcare. That’s when our tagline evolved to Bringing Care to Health. Although the Tata group’s entry did not fundamentally change our direction, it validated our approach and gave us the confidence to go deeper into our mission,” said Verma.

As of August 2025, Tata 1mg held a 30% market share of India’s e-pharmacy space (as claimed by the company). With Tata’s backing, the company isn’t just defending its position. It aims to lead the next phase of India’s digital healthcare race. But before we dive deep into its marketing strategies to spearhead growth, here is a close look at its evolution and pivots.

How Tata 1mg Is Betting On Hybrid Expansion And AI Advantage

Keen to capture India’s booming healthcare market, Tata 1mg has scaled beyond online operations into offline retail and adjacent healthcare services. The omnichannel platform with integrated outpatient services now spans e-pharmacy, diagnostics, consultations and institutional health solutions, aiming to make healthcare “understandable, accessible and affordable”, according to Verma.

“Our mission is to be India’s trusted and integrated omnichannel health ecosystem, delivering health and wellness services outside the hospital in a personalised, predictive and corrective way,” he added.

The platform lists more than 800K SKUs, delivers to 20K pin codes and has launched 50-minute delivery in select cities. It also operates 100 brick-and-mortar medical stores that combine pharmacy and diagnostics and aims to set up 3K outlets by FY30.

The company plans to roll out a 30-minute delivery service across 26 cities this financial year by leveraging a network of company-owned stores and partner outlets. The delivery model is already operational in eight cities, and it has been expanded further through collaborations such as a shop-in-shop tie-up with BigBasket in Bengaluru. The push reflects a broader strategy to deepen integration between online and offline channels, with network expansion positioned as a central growth driver in the months ahead.

On the diagnostics front, Tata 1mg runs 14-15 NABL-certified labs, holds Certificate of Suitability (officially, CEP or Certification of suitability to the monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia) and covers about 55 cities. It also provides institutional health solutions for corporate houses, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and other partners.

Additionally, it has integrated its offerings for condition-specific care programmes (obesity, cancer and more). “We are now bundling consultations, diagnostics, medication and structured health plans into one seamless package to create integrated condition management,” said Verma.

To deepen personalisation, the company is also developing the Health Insights Hub. This digital dashboard consolidates users’ health records, including prescriptions, diagnostic data and inputs from wearable devices, into a single interface. The system will........

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