--- title: "Remember That Startup That Wanted to Replace Bodegas? Its Cofounder Is Back to Put Pharma on the Blockchain" description: "Remember the bodega vending machine guy? Well, he's back — and he wants to do pharma on the blockchain. " date: "2022-03-09" modified: "2022-03-10" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/love-health-bodega" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" tags: - "blockchain" - "opioid crisis" - "pharma" - "the digest" --- # Remember That Startup That Wanted to Replace Bodegas? Its Cofounder Is Back to Put Pharma on the Blockchain ![Remember the bodega vending machine guy? Well, he's back — and he wants to do pharma on the blockchain. ]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Bodega Cats Remember that startup called Bodega that aimed to replace New York's beloved delis, [earning it the title]() of "America's most hated startup"? Well, one of its cofounders is back, and he wants to put pharma on the blockchain. *The Information* [reports that]() Bodega cofounder Ashwath Rajan is teaming up with the psychedelic grower MindMed and several others to start Love Health, which is looking to bring "solutions to the opioid crisis" as it seeks Food and Drug Administration approval for clinical trials of its naturally-inflected pharmaceutical offerings. The startup's founders are also considering paying drug trial participants using a cryptocurrency token, seemingly in an effort to marry naturopathy and blockchain. ## Courting Love After Twitter [got wind of the bodega-killing startup]() way back in fall 2017, there was major backlash. In 2018, the company [changed its name to Stockwell]() in an unsuccessful bit to save it from its inevitable demise, but by summer 2020, [it announced that it was shutting down]() and later was purchased for an undisclosed amount. The specifics of this new venture remain somewhat hazy. Cofounder Ryan Breslow [said in a tweet]() that Love Health will be "the first holistic approach to people-powered-pharma." The startup told *The Information* that its initial offerings will involve nutraceuticals, which are food-derived substances believed to have health benefits. In spite of the MindMed partnership, they said there are no immediate plans to offer psychedelic drugs, which is [another hot market in medtech right now](). In other words, it's throwing a lot — blockchain, naturopathy, and even possibly psychedelics — at the wall. Whether it sticks better than a controversial vending machine is anyone's guess. *Updated throughout to reflect that Ryan Breslow was not involved in Bodega. We regret the error.* **READ MORE:** [Bolt’s Breslow Teams With Psychedelics Founder on Crypto Pharma Startup]() \[*The Information*\] **More on startup schemes:** *[Weird Startup Proposes Dropping Artificial Human Organs From Space]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()