Vancouver-based Loba is destigmatizing medication, one super-stylish pillbox at a time

The boxes incorporate sleek design with smart technology, aiming to make taking pills part of a positive wellbeing routine

By Alyssa Hirose / February 4, 2022

Like dirty laundry or loose receipts, pill boxes are a household item that most of us tuck away when company’s coming. When Kate Bouchard, founder of Vancouver-based marketing agency Armature Collective, was looking for a storage solution for her vitamins and supplements, “cheap, ugly, large text-labeled pill boxes” were all she could find, she recalls.

Bouchard, who was in her early 20s when she began having health challenges, opted to work with a naturopath in addition to her physicians and specialists. That added up to a lot of pills. “I was working in Vancouver, living in Surrey and commuting two to three hours a day,” Bouchard says. “And I’m a very Type A person; I needed something to get organized.” Finding that the classic drug store pill boxes didn’t quite suit her look, she didn’t want to hide her medications away.

“I thought, How can I make taking medications or supplements—something you feel like you are doing to correct a problem—feel like a positive?” Bouchard explains. With that in mind, she notes the importance of her cherished daily rituals (like pouring a cup of coffee or lighting a candle) that are connected to wellness. Bouchard had a background working with health-related nonprofits and physicians’ associations as well as a personal interest in home decor, so she decided to try her hand at designing a pill box.

The result is Loba, her newest entrepreneurial venture. The product is now available for pre-orders, and it’s estimated that first deliveries will take place this spring. Loba pill management boxes have seven detachable compartments (one for each day) that you can take with you anywhere, plus colour-changing LED lights controlled via the accompanying app. The app has a medication tracker and notification function to remind you when to take your pills and supplements. And, importantly, Loba boxes are very pretty.

Loba pill boxes cost $175 (including access to the app). Given that—and their stylish aesthetic—you won’t want to hide them away. “I wanted to create a product that was beautiful and tapped into the power of daily rituals—something that had visual cues that made caring for yourself feel good,” Bouchard says. “It’s something you’re proud to have on your counter.”