Looking to boost your OTC sales? This will help.
Let me throw something out there, and you can tell me if this sounds familiar.
You’ve got supplements sitting on your shelves.
Good ones, too. Stuff you actually believe in.
But they don’t really move the way you expected them to.
Meanwhile, patients are coming in talking about something they saw online… or something their friend is taking… or something they ordered off Amazon at midnight.
And you’re standing there thinking: “We literally have something better than that right here.”
But the conversation never quite happens.
And that’s usually where the gap is.
It’s Not a Product Problem
Most of the time, it’s not that pharmacies don’t have access to good supplements.
And it’s definitely not that patients don’t want them.
If anything, patients are more interested in supplements right now than they’ve been in years.
They’re thinking about energy, recovery, metabolism, and longevity. These are all the things that don’t get solved with a quick prescription.
So the demand is there. The products are there.
But the connection between the two… that’s where things tend to fall apart.
The Part That Feels a Little Uncomfortable
This is where I think a lot of owners (and teams!) get stuck.
Nobody wants to feel like they’re “selling.” You didn’t get into pharmacy to push products.
And honestly, patients can feel that too. If it feels forced, it usually doesn’t go well.
So what happens instead?
You stay quiet. You answer questions if they ask. You let them browse.
And more often than not… they walk out and go buy something somewhere else.
Not because it’s better.
Just because someone else told them what it does.
What Actually Changed Things for Me
When I first started trying to grow supplement sales in one of my pharmacies, I didn’t have some big strategy.
We didn’t run ads. We didn’t redesign the front end.
We just started talking to patients differently.
That was it.
Instead of waiting for someone to ask, we started noticing opportunities and saying things like:
“You know, a lot of people dealing with that have been using this and seeing some pretty good results.”
No pitch. No pressure.
Just connecting what they’re experiencing to something that could help.
And within a few months, our supplement sales had grown more than I expected — by a lot.
Not because we got better at selling.
Because we got more comfortable having the conversation.
And here’s the thing: you’re their local pharmacist. You have a level of credibility and authority very few social media influencers will ever have.
All you need to do is listen and speak up with a supplement you know can help!
Why This Matters Right Now
There are a couple things happening at the same time that make this especially relevant.
First: supplements are cash.
No PBMs. No clawbacks. No surprises six months later.
Second: patients are paying more attention to quality.
You’ve probably noticed this too.
People are starting to question what they’re buying online.
They’re reading labels more. They’re asking better questions. There’s less blind trust in “whatever shows up first on Amazon.”
Which is actually a really good thing for pharmacies.
Because trust is one of the few advantages you already have.
A Good Example of This
Take something like NAD.
Search interest has gone up quite a bit. Patients are hearing about it, reading about it, asking about it. Google search volume for this has gone up a LOT recently.
At the same time, fewer people are just blindly ordering supplements online.
As an example, Amazon search volume for NAD has gone down by about 80% (from the most recent data mining I did).
They’re looking for something they feel confident in.
And that’s where having a good product line — something you trust and understand — starts to matter.
Not because you’re trying to “sell NAD.”
But because you can actually explain it in a way that makes sense to your patients.
And that’s what patients are really looking for.
Don’t Overcomplicate This
This is where I see people get stuck.
They think they need:
- a full supplement strategy
- a big display
- a complete overhaul of the front end
You really don’t.
You can start with one product.
One that:
- you believe in
- your team understands
- comes up naturally in conversation
And just focus on getting comfortable talking about it.
That’s usually enough to get momentum going.
Your Team Matters More Than the Shelf
At the end of the day, this doesn’t come down to what you stock.
It comes down to what your team feels confident talking about.
If they’re unsure, they won’t bring it up.
If they’re comfortable, they will.
And those small conversations — the ones that happen naturally at the counter — are what actually drive this.
Not signage. Not promotions. Not Facebook ads or TikTok videos.
Just conversations with real people.
And don’t forget to reach out to your providers and other potential referral partnerships! Using these relationships can help boost your OTC sales IF your partner knows what to recommend to their customers.
If you want more ways to increase the number of referral relationships you get, go check out my blog post about it. I break down the strategy I’ve successfully used in my pharmacies.
A Question Worth Asking
If a patient mentioned they were struggling with energy, or recovery, or just not feeling great…
Would your team know what to say?
Not perfectly. Just comfortably.
Because that’s usually the difference.
Final Thought
You don’t need to overhaul your pharmacy to make this work.
You just need to start the conversation.
Pick one product. Talk about it a little more often. See how patients respond.
Because once that starts to click, it tends to build on itself.
And you’ll probably look back and think: “That was way simpler than I made it.”
If you want even more ideas to grow your pharmacy’s OTC sales or top-line revenue, I highly recommend you check out Pharmacy Badass University. It’s how 300+ pharmacies are adding 5- or 6-figures in new revenue streams to their pharmacies.
