Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2011, and Funmácia’s plans to expand across Lisbon and the rest of Portugal, along with the franchise enquiries it mentions, reflect that year; the businesses described may have changed since.
If I told you that one of the most profitable businesses in times of crisis is gummy sweets, I imagine very few readers would believe me. But once you get to know this business idea, born in Lisbon (Portugal), you’ll see how ingenuity can turn a product into something truly original.
Funmácia is a way of selling candy shaped like medicine. Bruno Mendes and Ricardo Belchior imported the idea from a Barcelona candy shop, Happy Pills, although they gave it a very personal touch.
According to one of its founders, the shop sells “alternative medicines to cure the psychological illnesses of the 21st century“, in other words, the ailments caused by a pandemic called “the crisis”. All of it, of course, with plenty of humour: at Funmácia you can find “medicines” such as tax attenuators, debt reducers, employment supplements, bad-temper inhibitors and worry diminishers.
The way the business works is very simple. Once customers know they are not walking into a real pharmacy, they come into the shop, put on a pair of gloves and choose from a wide range of formats: blister packs, pill boxes, bottles and so on.
All of it, naturally, shaped like medicine. Once the bottle is full, the customer picks the label with the “healing ingredients”. The price is similar to that of ordinary sweets. These medicinal candy shops have been so successful that the two entrepreneurs are already planning to expand across Lisbon and the rest of Portugal, as they have found quite a few people interested in taking on the business as a franchise.
This business idea is simple, innovative and original. Besides adding a touch of humour to the crisis, Funmácia is getting through it perfectly well. Our warmest congratulations to its creators.
Further reading
Featured image: Gabi Butcher, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.
