Opella shifts media spend to digital as OTC market hits $58.2 billion
Opella, the consumer‑healthcare unit spun from Sanofi over a year ago, reported a 3.6% increase in first‑half 2026 net sales while allocating 60% of its media budget to digital channels. The move follows a three‑year rise in e‑commerce sales from 4% to 12% of revenue as the company builds an 85‑person in‑house team to run generative‑AI creative and bring search and programmatic buying internal.
The broader OTC market expanded to $58.2 billion in 2025, up from $44.3 billion in 2024, after the FDA signaled willingness to move more prescription drugs to over‑the‑counter status. Opella’s parent, Sanofi, retains a 48% stake in the €825 million ($927 million) business that was carved out as a standalone fast‑moving consumer healthcare unit. To support the shift, the firm hired senior CPG talent from Procter & Gamble, Reckitt, and FrieslandCampina and now runs most of its search and programmatic media in‑house. It also built an 85‑person in‑house team that uses generative‑AI tools to spin up digital creative assets quickly, a practice first pioneered by CPG giants such as Unilever.
“It has made us much faster,” Albert Hernandez, chief growth officer, Opella said.
Earlier in 2025, over‑the‑counter sales climbed to $58.2 billion, driven by growing consumer preference for self‑care and an FDA stance that favors switching more drugs from prescription to OTC access. That environment prompted healthcare marketers to look to the modern CPG playbook for brand‑building and media tactics.
What we know
OTC sales rose to $58.2 billion in 2025, up from $44.3 billion the previous year.
The business was spun out of Sanofi over a year ago, creating a €825 million ($927 million) business overnight; the French pharma giant retains a 48% stake.
Though commercial results are not published — Opella is a private company — the first half of 2026 saw net sales increase 3.6%, fueled by e‑commerce growth, according to an Opella spokesperson.
Hernandez said the company’s e‑commerce sales had grown from 4% of its revenue to 12% over the last three years.
Hernandez, a CPG marketer who spent 17 years at Nestlé prior to joining Sanofi’s consumer business in 2020, said that 60% of the company’s media investments now lay in digital channels, with 40% remaining with pharma favorites such as television or out-of-home (he didn’t provide specific budget estimates.)