Executive-2018-fall-winter

A fter five years in business, Naveed Tharwani knew his pharmacy, Gwinnett Drugs, was running out of space and needed a comprehensive brand update. “We had to expand to enter into the next phase of growth,” he said, and one of the first places he looked to for help was his fellow Chairman’s Club members. Frenik Marketing Group worked with Tharwani to grow his brand and design-build firm Eclipse Brand Builders helped double the footprint of his Lawrenceville-based store and lab. Gwinnett Drugs is the only compounding pharmacy in Gwinnett County and one of only a handful across the state. Pharmaceutical compounding is the micro- manufacturing of medications, ointments, lotions and syrups, which can include medicines for special needs groups who can’t swallow pills, children who prefer a certain medicine flavor, customized hormone treatments for women and even pet medications. With stricter regulations regarding compounding labs due out within the next year and an adjacent retail suite available for lease next door, the decision to expand seemed easy. “It was opportunity meets timing,” Tharwani said. Gwinnett Drugs was built on Tharwani’s desire to meet patient’s individualized needs in a way “big box” pharmacies couldn’t. “I wanted to try to build a service- based pharmacy,” he said, and this customer-centric focus was carried by his partners throughout both the store renovation and branding update. Frenik worked with Tharwani to create an easy-to-use, educational and intuitive website and mobile application, similar to those found at bigger pharmacies, where patients can easily renew a prescription and learn more about their treatments. “It’s cool to show people they have an option besides the big guys like Walgreens or CVS to get everything they need and more,” said Casey Heffernan, senior creative director at Frenik. “I’ve been to those big box stores and felt totally lost.” Using their in-house videography team, Frenik also created a new brand video and marketing material for Gwinnett Drugs featuring Tharwani’s new retail space and lab. “We were trying to highlight their new sterile lab. It’s a really big deal in their market,” Heffernan said. The new lab preemptively meets stricter federal regulations for compounding facilities that will be coming out within the next year. “We want to be functioning and open like normal when the new regulations hit and everyone else is making compliance changes,” Tharwani said. Though functionality and compliance were the most important aspects of the new lab, Tharwani also wanted the space to connect with customers, even if they couldn’t enter it. So, he chose a design similar to the “open kitchen” concept at high- GETTING BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM CHAIRMAN’S CLUB FRIENDS 8 the EXECUTIVE