About Parcel Health®
Vision
At Parcel Health, we create pharmaceutical packaging solutions that protect people and preserve the planet.
Mission
We are on a mission to fill medicine cabinets with safe parcels, not plastics.
Ethos
Parcel Health reimagines the future for pharmaceutical packaging. Every product we design, patent, and manufacture combines safety, user experience, and sustainability to set a new standard for all. We recognize and honor the intimate role we play in every patient’s healthcare journey. Our products protect lifesaving medication and serves in the daily routine for millions of patients and their families.
We combine our years of industry experience and an unwavering drive for sustainability and innovation, to create pharmaceutical parcels and systems that prioritizes patient safety and environmental stewardship.
We believe in creating parcels with a purpose.
Our Founding Story
Our story begins on two different sides of the world, brought together by a shared vision for a healthier planet and a more sustainable future.
Melinda’s Journey
Born and raised in Malaysia, Melinda witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of plastic waste on her homeland's beautiful landscapes. This early exposure to environmental issues would later shape her life's mission.
Driven by a desire to make a difference, Melinda pursued her undergraduate degree in pharmacology at Stony Brook University. After graduation, she accepted a research assistant position at Harvard University, where she worked alongside leading scientists studying neuronal development. The work was rigorous and challenging, but lacked the public health and translational pharmacology that she craved.
In 2017, Melinda was accepted into the doctoral pharmacy program at University of Michigan. Here, she was confronted with the daily conflict that patient care produced: millions of pounds of plastic waste generated by plastic pill bottles that are burned in incinerators or dumped into landfills in developing countries like Malaysia. It was painful that local patient care would create global plastic pollution, and she felt a growing urgency to address this.
Drawing on her experience in retail pharmacy and passion for environmental sustainability, she set out to create a safe and sustainable alternative to plastic amber vials. For Melinda, solving this problem has been personal: it is as important to provide healthcare while defending vulnerable communities worldwide from the detrimental effects of plastic pollution.
Mallory’s Journey
Meanwhile, Mallory Barrett, a student at North Carolina State University, was on her own path to reshape packaging and plastic waste. Winning the prestigious “Cradle to Cradle Product Design Challenge” competition in 2017, Mallory created a new, reusable approach to pharmaceutical packaging which she had named, Rex. Through the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute's series of circular design challenges, the global design community is invited to envision innovative solutions for everyday products with a focus on the product lifecycle, from raw materials to disposal. A total of 162 designers from 19 countries took part in the fourth Product Design Challenge, of which Mallory was recognized for winning Best Student Project.
Mallory graduated with the promise of a future full of problem-solving possibility, filling her ambitions. She began her career with a specialized paper packaging company where she learned foundational lessons in manufacturing processes. Material sourcing and the role paper packaging fascinated her, particularly in a packaging landscape that is driven by plastic innovations. As she learned more about the industry, she quickly became disillusioned by its stagnation. Surrounded by a lack of creativity and unwillingness to evolve, Mallory felt dissatisfied. She began searching for a challenge that would allow her to push the boundaries of what sustainable packaging could be.
Working Together
In late October 2019, Mallory received a LinkedIn message from a stranger that would change everything.
It was from Melinda, who was looking for someone who shared the same passion and whose ingenuity, creativity and integrity that could tackle the plastic pill bottle crisis. The timing was perfect. Mallory immediately saw the opportunity as her chance to help reimagine packaging.
Through many trials and tribulations (including a pandemic!), the two industrious women laid the ground work for Parcel Health. Their mission clear: fill medicine cabinets with parcels, not plastics.
Parcel Health, today
Parcel Health has earned widespread acclaim for redefining pharmaceutical packaging, winning multiple awards and accolades since its inception, including one from the U.S Department of Commerce.
Our journey began with Phill Box®, the first 100% compostable, paper-based medication container that quickly gained attention for its environmental benefits and sleek design. Pharmacies embraced its potential and we went on to develop the groundbreaking Tully Tube™, the world’s first paper pill bottle that is child-resistant, water-resistant, and insulating. Combined with our proprietary Parcel Coat™ technology, the Tully Tube keeps internal temperatures stable, water-resistant, and ensures safety.
Co-founders Melinda Lee and Mallory Barrett continue to lead a new era of healthcare packaging that protects patients and preserves the planet. For the first time, patient care and environmental responsibility can be synonymous, and Parcel Health is taking this movement global.
Based in Pittsburgh, PA, the Parcel Health team is just getting started.
Award-winning Product Design
First-place in Siegle Impact Track
Michigan Investment Challenge Winner
OneMagnify Best in Business Award
Parcel Health in the News
WPXI Our Region's Business - Parcel Health
Named One of Top 10 Pittsburgh Startups
#OTGYpsi: Ypsilanti Is Home To Many Low-Profile Businesses With Global Reach
Parcel Health takes home grand prize of $35K with sustainable medication packaging solution
Bellevue Startup Rolls Out Biodegradable Prescription Containers
Disrupting Pharmacy's Reliance on Plastic: How Parcel Health's Phill Box is Revolutionizing Packaging
Zell Lurie Institute Announces 2021 Michigan Business Challenge Winners
Our Region's Business - Parcel Health
6 AlphaLab Health Startups Could Change the Way You Look at Medicine
Michigan Business Challenge Seigle Impact Track Winner Announced
Pharmacy Student Co-founds Sustainable Medication Packaging Company
Women-founded Medication Packaging Startup Pilots Sustainable Prescription Packaging
Our Team
Melinda, Co-founder and CEO, plays a pivotal role in numerous aspects of the business, including investor relations, fundraising, regulatory, data analytics and planning.
Mallory, Co-founder and President, puts her award-winning background in Product Design and Product Management to use every day, along with business development and customer success.
Rebecca, Chief Marketing Officer, leverages her 25+ years in advertising, marketing and strategic planning to guide targeted growth strategies, data-driven decision modeling and customer acquisition.