The Contra Costa Times on Monday profiled California-based pharmacy chain Farmacia Remedios, which seeks to create a "personal connection" with Hispanic consumers. The chain was founded in 2004 by Ben Singer and Eduardo Rallo, who wanted to give Hispanics a "pharmacy experience that reminded them" of Mexico, according to the Times.

The chain, which has three locations, provides Mexican products and has all signs and labels in Spanish. Traditional pharmacy chains lack Spanish-language assistance and have limited imported products and services, according to the Times. "I didn't want a Walgreens in Spanish," Singer, a native of Mexico, said, adding, "In Mexico, the pharmacist interacts with you immediately. That service, that connection, here is nonexistent."

The chain also leases space to a walk-in medical clinic to provide on-site a variety of health services to address the needs of working-class Hispanics who are unable to afford health insurance, Singer and Rallo said. Two more locations are expected to open by the end of the year, and Singer and Rallo said their goal is to open 20 locations during the next five years. "Our Hispanic community is not being served the way it's supposed to be," Singer said, adding, "Our goal is to become the health provider to the Hispanic community" (Torres, Contra Costa Times, 6/11).