Well.ca

Well.ca is a Canadian online wellness retailer founded in 2008 in Guelph, Ontario by Ali Asaria, a former Research In Motion software engineer who designed BlackBerry's Brick Breaker game. At 27, Asaria bootstrapped the business from a closet at the back of his father Sultan's pharmacy in Guelph, personally managing orders, packaging, and building the e-commerce platform as a solo operation. The venture raised $1.1 million in Series A funding in 2009 — with notable investor Jordan Banks, then head of Facebook Canada — and grew into Canada's leading online health and wellness destination with over 40,000 products from approximately 2,800 brands.

Health and Wellness Online

Well.ca carries baby and kids products, beauty and skincare, personal care, fitness supplements, vitamins, medicine, home and lifestyle goods, food and snacks, and green and natural products — with roughly half the inventory being natural and eco-friendly. The company pioneered e-commerce innovation in Canada, launching North America's first virtual store in April 2012 with interactive wall displays and QR code scanning for mobile ordering. Well.ca won multiple Canada Post e-commerce awards including Best Online Retailer of the Year and Consumer Champion.

Ownership and Growth

McKesson Canada acquired Well.ca in December 2017, and Birch Hill Equity Partners completed its purchase of both Well.ca and Rexall in December 2024. The company ships from distribution centres in Guelph, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta (opened November 2023), offering free shipping on orders over $35 across Canada. Well.ca generated approximately US$103 million in annual revenue as of 2024.

A Canadian Wellness Destination

Well.ca's mission is to offer a one-stop destination for better-for-you everyday essentials and Canada's newest wellness brands. For Canadians looking for natural products, hard-to-find health brands, and convenient online shopping with fast domestic shipping, Well.ca remains one of the country's original and most established e-commerce success stories.