Business Model of 1mg: How the Platform Earns Revenue

India’s healthcare landscape has transformed dramatically over the past decade, and Business Model of 1mg has emerged as a pioneer in this digital revolution. From doorstep medicine deliveries to lab test bookings and teleconsultations, 1mg has redefined how millions access healthcare services conveniently and affordably.

Studying the business model of 1mg is critical for any founder interested in building a health-tech platform. The company has cracked the code on combining e-commerce principles with regulatory compliance and patient trust. In this article, we’ll break down exactly Business Model of 1mg works, who its customers are, where its revenue comes from, and what lessons you can apply when creating your own digital pharmacy or telemedicine startup.

What is 1mg & How It Works

Business Model of 1mg is India’s largest digital healthcare platform that offers a comprehensive suite of services:

• Pharmacy: Delivering medicines, health products, and wellness items directly to customers’ doorsteps.
  
• Diagnostics: Enabling users to book lab tests and health check-ups with sample collection from home.
  
• Teleconsultation: Providing online doctor consultations across specialties.
  
• Information: Offering verified content on medicines, diseases, and treatments to help consumers make informed decisions.
  

What Problem Does 1mg Solve?

Before platforms like 1mg, buying medicines often meant:

• Long waits at crowded pharmacies
  
• Limited access to authentic medicines in smaller towns
  
• No easy way to compare prices or understand prescriptions
  
• Difficulty in booking lab tests without referrals
  

1mg solves these problems by digitizing every touchpoint of the healthcare journey. It makes access to reliable health services faster, cheaper, and more transparent.

Who Uses 1mg?

1mg primarily serves:

• Patients with chronic conditions who need recurring prescriptions
  
• Urban and semi-urban households looking for convenience and price savings
  
• Working professionals seeking teleconsultation services to avoid clinic visits
  
• Elderly patients who prefer home sample collection for diagnostics
  

How Does 1mg work Operate?

Here’s a simple look at how the platform works:

1. Order Placement: Customers use the website or app to search for medicines, upload prescriptions, or select lab tests.
   
2. Verification & Fulfillment: Prescriptions are validated by pharmacists. Orders are sourced from verified vendors and warehouses.
   
3. Delivery & Service: Medicines are dispatched via logistics partners. For lab tests, technicians visit the customer’s location to collect samples.
   
4. Consultation: Patients can book online appointments with certified doctors and receive e-prescriptions.
   
5. Follow-up & Support: Reminders, reports, and follow-ups are managed via the app and SMS notifications.
   

This integrated model has allowed 1mg to grow rapidly while maintaining quality and compliance.

Read More : What is a 1mg App and How Does It Work?

1mg Primary Customer Base Overview

Understanding who uses 1mg is key to appreciating why its business model works so well. Here are the core customer segments the platform targets:

1. Chronic Disease Patients

People managing conditions like diabetes, hypertension, or heart disease need monthly refills of the same medicines. 1mg’s subscription and auto-refill features make it easy for them to maintain treatment adherence without frequent pharmacy visits.

2. Working Professionals

Busy professionals in urban areas often prefer ordering medicines online and booking lab tests without disrupting their work schedules. Teleconsultation is especially appealing to this group.

3. Elderly Consumers

Older patients value home sample collection, clear medicine information, and easy ordering assistance. 1mg’s user-friendly app design and customer support cater to this demographic effectively.

4. Health-Conscious Individuals

Young adults and families interested in preventive care, wellness products, and diagnostic check-ups form a growing audience segment. They are frequent buyers of vitamins, health supplements, and fitness-related items.

5. Caregivers

Relatives and caregivers of patients often manage repeat orders and health records. 1mg enables multi-profile management within one account, making this process seamless.

Features That Support the Business Model

1mg’s success is driven by thoughtfully designed features that create value for customers and generate steady revenue. Here are seven core features that make its business model sustainable:

1. Online Medicine Ordering

Customers can search, compare, and order prescription and OTC medicines through a simple interface. Integrated prescription uploads and pharmacist verification ensure compliance with regulations

2. Home Sample Collection for Lab Tests

Users can schedule lab tests with doorstep sample collection. This convenience has been a major driver of adoption, especially among elderly and chronically ill patients.

3. Teleconsultation with Certified Doctors

The platform offers video and chat consultations across specialties, including general medicine, dermatology, and psychiatry. E-prescriptions are issued instantly, which customers can use to place orders within the app.

4. Health Content Library

1mg’s extensive database includes drug information, side effects, dosages, and disease guides. This builds trust and educates users, driving repeat visits and brand loyalty.

5. Order Subscriptions & Refills

For chronic care patients, 1mg enables automatic medicine refills and reminders. Subscription discounts help lock in long-term customers and create predictable revenue streams.

6. Discounts & Loyalty Rewards

The app offers dynamic discounts, cashback, and loyalty points to encourage frequent purchases and higher cart values.

Read More : Best 1mg Clone Scripts in 2025: Features & Pricing Compared

Revenue Streams of 1mg

1mg has built a multi-channel revenue engine that combines e-commerce, services, and partnerships. This diversified model helps it maintain steady cash flow and scale efficiently.

Below is a clear table outlining each primary revenue stream and how it works:

Revenue Stream	How It Works
Medicine Sales	Revenue from selling prescription and OTC medicines via the app and website. Discounts and margins negotiated with suppliers determine profitability.
Diagnostic Tests	Commissions earned from lab test bookings. 1mg partners with certified labs and earns a percentage of each test’s fee.
Teleconsultation Fees	Fees charged to patients for online consultations. A share goes to the consulting doctor, and the platform retains a commission.
Featured Listings & Sponsored Content	Pharmaceutical and wellness brands pay to promote their products via featured placements and targeted banners.
Health Products & Wellness Sales	Sale of supplements, health devices, and personal care items. These often have higher margins compared to prescription medicines.
Subscription Programs	Revenue from medicine refill subscriptions offering discounts and priority delivery. Creates recurring income and customer lock-in.
Diagnostics Fulfillment Partnerships	Logistics and collection fees when 1mg manages end-to-end sample collection and reporting on behalf of partner labs.

Small Explanations of Each Revenue Stream

• Medicine Sales: The largest contributor, driven by high transaction volume and repeat purchases.
  
• Diagnostics: An essential pillar, especially post-pandemic, with increased consumer awareness about preventive health.
  
• Teleconsultation: Growing rapidly as consumers shift to online doctor visits.
  
• Sponsored Content: Enables monetization of traffic and customer trust without charging extra fees to users.
  
• Health Products: Cross-selling adds incremental revenue.
  
• Subscriptions: Stabilizes revenue and increases lifetime value (LTV).
  
• Fulfillment Services: Builds B2B revenue channels alongside B2C operations.
  

This blended approach reduces dependence on a single stream and helps 1mg achieve sustainable growth.

Read more : Business Model of 1mg: How the Platform Earns Revenue

1mg’s Cost Structure and Expenses

Running a large-scale digital pharmacy like 1mg involves significant operational and strategic expenses. Understanding these costs helps founders plan budgets, pricing, and fundraising needs. Here are the main cost components you should know:

Procurement & Inventory Costs

• The largest expense is purchasing medicines, wellness products, and diagnostic supplies.
  
• 1mg manages relationships with distributors, manufacturers, and certified labs to negotiate competitive rates and maintain stock levels.
  

Logistics & Delivery

• Last-mile delivery of medicines and health products requires reliable shipping partners.
  
• The company also incurs costs for cold chain logistics, packing materials, and reverse logistics in case of returns.
  

Technology & Platform Development

• Significant investments are made in:
  
  • Mobile apps and website maintenance
    
  • AI-driven prescription verification
    
  • Secure payment gateways
    

Marketing & Customer Acquisition

• Online ads, promotions, referral programs, and discounts are critical to driving new user sign-ups and retaining customers.
  
• This includes costs for content marketing, SEO, and targeted campaigns.
  

Regulatory Compliance & Quality Assurance

• Healthcare regulations in India require:
  
  • Licensed pharmacists for verification
    
  • Strict prescription validation
    

Doctor & Lab Partner Payments

• Revenue-sharing arrangements with:
  
  • Teleconsulting doctors who receive a fee per session
    
  • Labs providing diagnostics services
    

 Warehousing & Operations

• Storage facilities, fulfillment centers, and cold storage infrastructure for sensitive medications.
  
• Staff salaries, training, and facility maintenance.
  

2024–2025 Innovations or Updates

To stay ahead in India’s competitive health-tech market, 1mg has rolled out a series of product, pricing, and operational updates. These moves are designed to increase customer retention, improve margins, and strengthen its brand as a trusted digital healthcare provider.

Below are key innovations and strategic updates founders should watch closely:

Expansion of Same-Day Delivery

• 1mg has broadened its express delivery services to more Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.
• The goal is to deliver critical medicines within a few hours, reducing delivery times and boosting repeat orders.
  

AI-Enabled Prescription Analysis

• The platform has deployed machine learning tools that automatically verify prescriptions for compliance and detect fraudulent uploads.
• This reduces manual workload and ensures faster order fulfillment.
  

Enhanced Teleconsultation Suite

• More specialties added, including mental health, pediatrics, and diet counseling.
• Integration of video calling and e-prescriptions directly into the app for seamless experiences.
  

Preventive Health Focus

• Expanded diagnostics packages and wellness plans targeting lifestyle diseases.
• Special promotions and discounts for preventive health check-ups have been launched.
• Sustainability Initiatives Eco-friendly packaging and supply chain practices have been piloted to meet growing consumer demand for sustainable brands.

Takeaways for Startup Founders

If you’re planning to build a digital pharmacy, health marketplace, or teleconsultation app, studying 1mg offers valuable insights. Here’s what you can take away and apply to your own venture:

Solve Real Pain Points

1mg succeeded because it solved tangible problems:

• Limited pharmacy access
• Lack of reliable medicine information
• Difficulty booking lab tests
  

Combine Multiple Revenue Streams

Instead of relying on a single income source, 1mg layered:

• Product sales
• Service fees
• Subscriptions
• Advertising revenue
  

Invest in Trust and Compliance

Healthcare is built on trust. 1mg invested heavily in:

• Prescription verification
  
• Licensed partnerships
  
• Verified content
  

Read more : Reasons startup choose our 1mg clone over custom development

Why Partner with Miracuves?

Building a health-tech platform requires:
Deep industry expertise
Pre-built technology modules
Compliance-ready architecture

Miracuves offers ready-made app and custom solutions that help you launch faster without compromising on quality or compliance. From pharmacy apps to teleconsultation platforms, we’ve done it all—and we’ll help you do it better.

Conclusion :

1mg has set the benchmark for how a digital pharmacy can scale successfully in India. By combining convenient medicine delivery, diagnostics, teleconsultation, and rich health content, it has become a one-stop health platform trusted by millions.

Key takeaways from the 1mg business model:

• Solve real and urgent healthcare problems
  
• Diversify your revenue streams to reduce risk
  
• Invest in compliance and transparency to build trust
  
• Use technology to automate and personalize user experiences
  
• Expand into underserved regions for faster growth
  

If you’re an entrepreneur inspired to build a similar platform, you don’t have to start from scratch. Miracuves specializes in helping founders launch powerful health-tech solutions quickly and cost-effectively.

Whether you want an on-demand pharmacy app, a lab test booking platform, or an integrated telehealth solution, we can help you create a product that rivals the best in the market.

Ready to launch your own 1mg-like app?
Contact Miracuves today or explore our ready-made app solutions to accelerate your journey.

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