Bod Australia obtains improved place in shop window via Australian Pharmaceuticals Industries

One of Australia’s emergent developer and distributors of cosmetics and natural medicines, Bod Australia (ASX: BDA) has secured potentially better marketability and market exposure, courtesy of a deal with leading pharmacy wholesaler, Australian Pharmaceuticals Industries (ASX: API).

The large-cap company with a significant presence in Australia, including a network of 2,000 pharmacies nationwide will now stock Bod Australia’s entire range of natural medicines products, including new products Enterofytol this month and SediStress to follow later this year in July.

Its natural medicines portfolio includes a handful of products with varying features that provide a wide range of health benefits and potentially improved efficacy compared to traditional synthetic medicines.

Enterofytol has been designed to relieve the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) while SediStress aims to combat stress and anxiety.

The two natural medicines intend to address these two rapidly growing health issues in Australia with the reception of the drugs into consumer’s hands keenly anticipated by analysts. The two new brands have been obtained via a Bod Australia’s distribution agreement with Belgian manufacturer Tilman S.A.

Digging deeper into Bod Australia

Bod Australia operates two parallel, yet separate, business units. On one side, the company is marketing and distributing cosmetics applied to the surface of the skin and on the other, natural medicines that are ingested orally by consumers.

Its current distribution network allows Bod Australia to stock its products in around 800 pharmacies belonging to third parties.

The deal with API more than doubles its distribution network and effectively places its novel set of products based on medicinal cannabis onto a more visible and marketable platform that will potentially generate higher sales and improve awareness of the efficacy of medicinal-cannabis-based products.

As part of its growth and emergence into the Australian market, Bod Australia recently announced it had completed its first-ever round of cannabidiol-based product imports that will facilitate its phase 1 clinical trial, expected to commence later this year.

Pinpoint, Flexofytol, Enterofytol and SediStress, and all associated stock keeping units (SKU’s) will now be fully accessible by all pharmacies within API’s network.

API is one of Australia’s largest wholesalers, currently distributing to over 2,000 pharmacies across Australia including popular pharmacy franchises such as Priceline, Chemsave and Pharmacy 4 Less.

The distribution deal with API means that retailers will have easier and more convenient access to Bod Australia’s product range and also ensures Bod’s products achieve greater penetration across individual pharmacies and speciality retailers.

“We are pleased to have progressed our relationship with API and look forward to working with them to promote our natural medicines range through their established system of over 2,000 individual stores,” said Ms Jo Patterson, Founder and CEO of Bod Australia.

“We are also excited to introduce new product packet sizes across our network. These new packaging innovations will ensure that the Company is building a strong brand block in individual stores and gaining the necessary shelf presence required to generate ongoing sales,” she said.

In a further development, Bod Australia says it aims to widen the available range of its products by adjusting the packaging and dosage sizes to better suit consumer demand.

According to Bod Australia, it has recently introduced a number of new product packaging sizes to sell through its established channels which is expected to deliver a “greater shelf presence” in stores and pharmacies for the company.

Bod Australia is also keen to develop one of the quickest growing market niches of all the — the daigou market that funnels high-quality goods from Australia to China, where low-quality products are being shunned by domestic Chinese consumers in favour of Western alternatives.

Shares in Bod Australia were up 19% in early morning trade at $0.435.