Our Story

Astrid was founded in 2020 by Lisa Nguyen B.Pharm, a clinical pharmacist. Lisa began her career in natural medicines shortly after medicinal legalisation in Australia when the regulations changed the classification of cannabis from a Schedule 9 to a Schedule 8 – making it a prescription medicine. 

Lisa worked as a Medical Science Liaison for various startup companies in the field, allowing her to specialise in education. Here, she worked alongside doctors and other health care professionals to explore the therapeutic use of natural medicines in chronic pain, mood disorders and sleep. 

As the industry matured between 2017 and 2019, access became a little easier; the SAS-B and AP pathways streamlined processes for both prescribers and patients.  However, Lisa recognised a gap for patient education and improving patient support. In particular, she wanted to focus on creatively building the patient journey from a pharmacists’ perspective – and do so in a modern yet sophisticated way. 

So, in 2020, Lisa founded Astrid – one of the first few dispensaries in Australia specialising in prescribed natural therapies, and the only dispensary that is female-led. Astrid launched during the peak of the pandemic, to eerie empty streets and gruelling lockdowns. Lisa and her team navigated the complexities of skyrocketing mental health and chronic pain cases during the pandemic – and focused on support, education and improving access. 

Today, Astrid is proud to be Australia’s leading dispensary – making waves as an industry leader and pioneer in what is very much an emerging space. Astrid’s commitment to providing exceptional patient care by focusing on education, support and transparency has afforded us recognition as Australian Dispensary Of The Year in 2021 and again in 2023. Our community of patients and advocates has expanded far beyond expectations, and we are very humbled. 

Sophisticated, modern and transformative – Astrid is not only an eco-system for access and education of natural medicines, but it is a destination for premium skincare brands, evidence-based gut health solutions and plant-based body care products.

Astrid is honoured to be the recipient of the following awards:   

CANNABIS INDUSTRY AWARDS
Dispensary of the Year 2021 / 2023

CANNABIS INDUSTRY AWARDS
Company of the Year 2023

GLOBAL HEALTH & PHARMA COMMERCIAL CANNABIS AWARDS
Best Specialty Cannabinoid Medicine Pharmacy – Victoria 2021

MELBOURNE DESIGN AWARDS
Winner of Interior Design – Retail category

Astrid Information:
E-commerce trading name: Astrid Digital Pty Ltd
ABN 14 669 268 053