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Pharmacy culture index
Which Australian and European cities are most influenced by viral pharmacy products and skincare trends?
Historically, pharmacies were the place to pick up a prescription or over-the-counter medication. Now, it’s transforming into much more than that; it’s becoming a lifestyle destination for younger generations.
Thanks to the pharmacy skincare trends on TikTok1https://www.timeout.com/news/why-is-everyone-on-tiktok-suddenly-obsessed-with-french-pharmacies-082323#:~:text=Why%20is%20everyone%20on%20TikTok,and%20easier%20to%20come%20by., people across the globe are heading to their local pharmacists for viral pharmacy products and viral supplement trends that have grown popular through influencers and wellness fads.
The rise of “dupe” culture has also had an impact, as high-end, expensive brands are seeing cheaper alternatives that mimic their products at a much lower price.
Health insurance comparison site iSelect created a pharmacy culture index to explore where trend-led pharmacy shopping is most popular, by measuring product and pharmacy popularity across capital cities in Australia and Europe. Discover how skincare trends 2026 are influencing more consumers to shop in local pharmacies, and which cities are seeing the biggest influx.
Australia’s viral pharmacy hotspots
In Australia, the cities with the highest pharmacy culture index scores were:
- Canberra, Australian Capital Territory – 82
- Perth, Western Australia – 64
- Brisbane, Queensland – 54
- Hobart, Tasmania – 50
- Melbourne, Victoria, and Sydney, New South Wales – 46
Canberra scored the highest, with the most pharmacists and the largest increase in pharmacies across Australia. The popularity of both pharmacies and viral products was also high.
Sydney and Melbourne both saw exceedingly high levels of Google searches surrounding products and pharmacies. Sydney saw 19.6k product and 49.5k pharmacy searches, while Melbourne saw 19.1k product and 40.5k pharmacy searches. Canberra, in comparison, saw only 1,350 product searches and 5,400 pharmacy searches.
These two cities, however, saw some of the lowest pharmacy volume increases (Sydney with 1.2% and Melbourne with 2.4%) and very low numbers of pharmacies per capita in 2023, showing that while trends may be well researched, they don’t translate as heavily into buying and consumption habits.
As major tourist hubs, Sydney and Melbourne may experience higher search activity driven partly by visitors rather than residents. This could help explain why strong online interest does not appear to translate into sustained increases in pharmacy numbers or long-term shifts in purchasing behaviour.
Most searched pharmacy dupes and viral products by city
Across the top three most searched products by city, Melbourne and Sydney had the highest search volumes overall.
The most-searched product in Australia was Avène Cicalfate Restorative Cream, with a total of 19,470 searches, and Sydney and Melbourne collectively accounted for 67.8% of those searches.
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Cleanser saw 8,000 searches in Australia, and the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask had 7,990.
On the flip side, Weleda Calendula Cream saw no search volume whatsoever, and Vichy Normaderm Phytosolution only saw 30, split evenly across Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.
Aside from Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth saw the next-highest search volumes overall, reflecting a significant trend in these major cities.
Europe’s most trend-driven pharmacy capitals
The highest scoring European cities in the pharmacy culture index were:
- Zagreb, Croatia – 75
- Prague, Czechia and Warsaw, Poland – 74
- Bucharest, Romania and Budapest, Hungary – 64
Zagreb saw significantly high popularity and Google search volume for both viral products and local pharmacies, with a moderate increase in pharmacies in the city. However, Warsaw had a 4% decrease in pharmacy volume, gaining its high index score instead from the overall popularity of products and pharmacies. Warsaw also had the highest total number of pharmacy searches across all of Europe.
Rome had the largest volume of pharmacies, with a considerable 11.8% increase over the years, but product Google searches were only 2,690 compared to the highest in Warsaw at 9,210.
Valletta in Malta and Podgorica in Montenegro had the largest overall increase in pharmacies, both seeing over 31% more, while Belgrade had a 46.1% decline in total pharmacies.
Central Europe seemed to have the highest product popularity per capita, with 3,340 across Vaduz, Bratislava, Warsaw and Prague. Similarly, Central and some Eastern European cities saw the highest pharmacy popularity.
Valletta had zero popularity for either product or pharmacies, yet came 14th in the overall index.
Most searched wellness trends in Europe by product
The most-searched TikTok pharmacy product in Europe is Avène Cicalfate Restorative Cream, with 18,620 searches overall; 8.59% of which came from Stockholm. Close behind is CeraVe Moisturising Cream with 13,720 total searches, 21.13% coming from Warsaw.
On the other hand, just like Australian search trends, Weleda Calendula Cream saw 0 searches across all cities. Vichy Normaderm Phytosolution saw only 160 searches split evenly across 16 cities, including Amsterdam, Oslo, Dublin and Rome.
“Our index reflects a broader shift in how consumers view everyday health. Pharmacies are no longer just places to fill prescriptions; they’ve become accessible hubs for skincare, supplements and preventative care.
“Preventative wellness also plays a key role, with more people investing in everyday health rather than waiting for issues to arise.
“Health insurance is another way people can invest in their health, and ensuring you are on the right cover for you can provide greater confidence and access to professional support when you need it.”
General Manager – Health at iSelect
Written by:
Sarah Grealy
Digital Public Relations Specialist
0413 363 690
Sarah is our Digital Public Relations Specialist, and brings more than a decade of experience in the insurance comparison industry to iSelect.
With a passion for storytelling through data-driven insights, Sarah strives to empower Aussies with practical guides and tips.
About the data
This dataset ranks cities in EU country and Australian states/territories. These scores were then combined to give each location a total score out of 100, and locations were ranked from best to worst overall. The aim of the index is to assess which Australian and European cities are most influenced by viral pharmacy products and skincare trends.
Looking at the capital cities of each EU country and Australian states/territories the following metrics were collected:
- Product popularity
- Pharmacy popularity
- Global ranking factors
These metrics were then ranked and indexed to provide a score for each city from 0-100. The index factors were:
- No. pharmacies per capita
- Growth in pharmacies
- Product popularity per capita
- Pharmacy demand per capita
The scores were averaged for each city to determine a final ranking that places them where pharmacist demand (and their products) were highest.
Sources
iSelect does not compare all health insurance providers or policies in the market. The availability of policies will change from time to time. Not all policies available from its providers are compared by iSelect and due to commercial arrangements, your stated needs and circumstances, not all policies compared by iSelect are available to all customers. Some policies and special offers are available only from iSelect’s contact centre or website. Click here to view iSelect’s range of providers