Betr Seeks to Disrupt the Over-The-Counter Medication Market

(PRESS RELEASE) Betr — a socially conscious company that produces high-quality, over-the-counter medicine—launches with medications aimed to help people feel their best while also helping others. Betr is simplifying the over-the-counter space and offering high-quality products that alleviate the most common ailments— starting with pain and allergies—offering everything most consumers need, and nothing they don’t, shipped right to their door. Betr is putting the customer first; a radical concept for the category. Coupled with a give-back program that lies at the heart of the business, consumers now have an opportunity to consciously shop for over-the-counter medications for themselves and in turn provide a life-saving medication for someone who could not otherwise afford it.

Launched to help cut through the noise of an unnecessarily complicated pharmacy shelf, Betr curates its products into selected bundles that include the over-the-counter products most commonly used together for each category — starting with pain and allergy.

Betr is brought to market by co-founders Livio Bisterzo of Green Park Brands, a life-long entrepreneur with an expertise in consumer packaged goods, and Jen Hoffman, an industry veteran and business leader with decades of experience in drug manufacturing, along with a team of purpose driven entrepreneurs, and is backed by multi-national CPG conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a pre-seed investor.

“We have a real opportunity to change the way consumers shop for over-the-counter medications, by simplifying the assortment, empowering consumers with the information they need to make the right buying decisions, and communicating with warmth and heart,” says Hoffman. “We are well positioned to radically elevate the experience in this category. Through our initial direct-to-consumer approach, we will get to know the consumer more intimately and put them at the center as we learn and evolve to support their selfcare journey.”

Driven by purpose as well as efficacy, Betr believes that everyone should have access to the medications they need, so every time you purchase Betr, you are helping those who so often are forced to go without. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 4 Americans could not afford their prescription medications.

Each year, $10 billion dollars’ worth of perfectly good, unused medications is sent to a medical waste incinerator to be destroyed. Betr’s give-back program aims to deliver real impact on both fronts. Working strategically with a non-profit partner, Betr will donate 4% of their net revenue to facilitate the distribution of unused prescription medications to medical networks serving underserved communities. Every over-the-counter Betr bundle purchased equals one prescription donated. Betr aims to donate 10 million prescriptions in four years, worth over $400 million dollars for underserved communities.

“Change in the real world requires action, not just a corporate narrative. With Betr, we were able to create a socially conscious approach to over-the-counter medication by integrating a meaningful give-back partnership at the heart of our business model,” says Bisterzo. “We have a unique opportunity to help people in need, while promoting a new consumerism that will benefit more people by being fairer, more equitable, and more sustainable.”

FMCG company Reckitt Benckiser (RB) has led the pre-seed investment—its London-based ventures arm backs early-stage startups and founders who share RB’s ‘fight for access,’ making high-quality hygiene, health and nutrition a right, not a privilege. Betr’s radical customer-first approach, coupled with its give-back program that enables consumers to consciously shop for medications and in turn, provide a life-saving medication for someone who could not otherwise afford it, fueled the purpose-backed investment.

“We are thrilled to partner with the team at Betr and be a part of their goal in striving to make high-quality medicine accessible to all,” says Rakesh Narayana, Global Director of New Ventures at RB. “Access to high-quality health and hygiene is something we are passionate about at RB and this continues to be a focus on the strategic investments and partnerships that we make. By leveraging both RB and Betr’s expertise and our complementary strengths, the partnership is challenging the status quo and bringing effective and radically transparent over-the-counter products to a discerning and socially minded consumer.”

Betr’s products are manufactured in partnership with a Michigan-based drug manufacturer that has 125 years of experience making over-the-counter medications. In fact, Betr products contain the same active ingredients—and the same quality and safety expectations—as the name brands customers are used to seeing on the shelves.

Betr empowers its consumers with clear, concise information about its products—it’s easy to understand everything that goes into the brand’s medications and how they’ll help customers feel better. Betr’s radical transparency extends to its Transparency Tool, where consumers can enter a 7 digit code on the back of their product to see when their specific product was packaged, its expiration date, and quality test results.

To launch, the brand is focusing on pain and allergy. The following over-the-counter medications are now available exclusively on betrremedies.com:

• Pain
  • Pain Relief Tablet (active ingredient— Ibuprofen)
  • Pain Relief Caplet (active ingredient— Acetaminophen)
  • Sleep Aid Tablet (active ingredient— Diphenhydramine)
  • Headache Relief Tablet ( active ingredient— Naproxen Sodium)
• Allergy
  • All Day Allergy Relief Tablet (active ingredient— Cetirizine Hydrochloride)
  • Allergy Relief Tablet (active ingredient— Diphenhydramine)
  • Nasal Spray (active ingredient— Fluticasone Propionate Glucocorticoid)

Consumers can purchase as single products or as curated pain and allergy bundles to ensure they have a variety of medications to help best treat their symptoms.

For further information, contact:

• Travis Paul Martin | travis@skoogco.com
• Sophie Williams | sophie@skoogco.com
• Allison Hogan | allison@skoogco.com