Roxana Maftei: Vision, Courage, and Authenticity in Building the Farmacia Tei and Bebe Tei Brands

Roxana Maftei, founder of Farmacia Tei and Bebe Tei, speaks about the courage to innovate, staying true to one’s values, and building a brand rooted in trust and transparency.

Roxana Maftei is the founder and majority shareholder of Farmacia Tei and Bebe Tei, a visionary entrepreneur who, through hard work, perseverance, and creativity, has succeeded in turning an idea into an innovative and trustworthy brand with a strong impact on Romania’s pharmaceutical market and the children’s products sector.

C&B: How would you describe yourself in a single sentence?

Roxana Maftei: I am an entrepreneur determined to create real value for people and society, through diversity, fairness, and high-quality services that inspire trust.

C&B: What were the key moments of your career?

Roxana Maftei: A defining moment was the decision to implement an innovative business model in a traditional and rigid sector. I chose to bring people closer to a wide range of products meant to meet as many needs as possible, to offer transparency by maintaining the same prices online and in physical locations, and to guarantee high-quality services. It was a challenging process, but the results speak for themselves.
A second essential step was the launch of Bebe Tei – a natural continuation of our mission to meet the needs of parents and children in Romania. Today, Bebe Tei has become a reference point in the minds of consumers, strengthening its position through its product diversity, consistent pricing online and offline, and specialized guidance, becoming everyone’s favorite store, whether they are parents or not.

Another important moment was the partnership with the Dedeman group, which confirmed the strength of the brand and opened a new stage of development.

C&B: What were the biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Roxana Maftei: I quickly realized that a healthy and sustainable business is built on people. One of the challenges was building a united, motivated, and stable team. I constantly invested in the relationship with employees and personally engaged in their well-being. The stability of the team is reflected in the quality of services we offer our patients and customers.

C&B: Did you have a dream or ambition that guided you?

Roxana Maftei: I always wanted to make a difference—not just to exist in numbers, but for people to resonate with what I build and for me to be truly close to them. Entrepreneurship is not only about numbers; it is about the impact on society. By placing people at the center of the business, I understood how to relate to them and built everything around this idea. This was reflected in our constant effort to offer a wide diversity of products, high-quality services, and transparency in pricing. Keeping people at the core of everything I build, I continued even when the numbers didn’t always look like in the textbooks.

C&B: What were you like at the beginning of your career and how have you transformed?

Roxana Maftei: In the beginning, I spent a lot of time among people and shelves—the first pharmacy was quite small, so I had the opportunity to understand patients’ needs and how they relate to the space. To speak their language, I had to understand what it meant to be on the other side of the counter.
I still try to be present in our locations as often as possible, although now I can say I intuit our patients’ needs, and my focus has shifted mainly toward strategy to improve access to what Farmacia Tei aims to offer. What has not changed is the passion, curiosity, and desire to share the values at the core of the business with as many people as possible.

C&B: What do you think your team would say about you?

Roxana Maftei: First, I think they would say that I am human. Just as I placed the people in front of the counters at the center of the business, my primary concern as an entrepreneur is for the people behind the counters and the entire team that makes Tei what it is. It is very important for everyone to feel included, respected, and appreciated. Of course, the reverse is also true: I expect respect, involvement, and appreciation from my team.

C&B: The most important decision you have made?

Roxana Maftei: I believe the decision that brought Farmacia Tei to where it is today was to remain true to my vision. It was challenging to build a business model so different from what existed on the market at that time, a model that in that socio-economic context may have been difficult to understand, yet people embraced it quite easily. This stubbornness to stay true to the values I wanted to bring to people allowed me to maintain authenticity and strengthen the image of Farmacia Tei.

C&B: How does Farmacia Tei influence the community?

Roxana Maftei: Farmacia Tei has become synonymous with accessibility and diversity. Through fair prices and a very wide range of products, we have created a standard of transparency and respect for patients and customers. Moreover, the constant investment in our team and its stability ensures that the experience we offer the community is positive, long-lasting, and continuously improving.

C&B: What differentiation strategies do you use in the pharmaceutical market?

Roxana Maftei: Our strategy is based on several key elements: price transparency, a huge diversity of products, and high-quality services provided by our employees. In addition, a unique element of fairness is our pricing policy: prices are the same regardless of the channel (online or offline) or the city where the customer is. This consistency conveys respect and strengthens trust in the Tei brand.

C&B: What does a typical day look like for you?

Roxana Maftei: I believe any day can be defined by two words: involved and present. Any decision I make—management, financial, or operational—I make it involved and present, considering (I hope) all variables that could arise. I like to believe I end each day with the satisfaction that I have done my best every time.

C&B: What values guide you?

Roxana Maftei: The values that define me as a human being also define the Tei business: fairness, respect, transparency, care, and passion. I believe Farmacia Tei has become what it is today—a benchmark of good faith and transparency—because every decision I made was based on these values. The team I created and shaped was also built around these values, and this can be seen in the loyalty of the patients and customers who choose us.

C&B: How did the idea of Farmacia Tei come to life?

Roxana Maftei: Farmacia Tei entered the market to meet people’s need for decent prices and quality services. As time passed and expansion became imminent, we began to offer an increasingly wide range of products, and this is how the concept of a large-format pharmacy was born. In 2019, we opened in the Bucharest neighborhood of Rahova the location that remains our largest so far, with a total area of 2,200 square meters. What we can say now is that we plan to surpass ourselves and open at least one more location with an even larger surface.

C&B: What long-term plans and objectives do you have for Farmacia Tei?

Roxana Maftei: Our goal is to strengthen the brand and continue to develop it both offline and online, without compromising the values that brought us here. We plan to open new locations in Ploiești and Focșani and in several other major cities (county capitals) in 2026.

Through her vision and perseverance, Roxana Maftei has succeeded in redefining how Romanians relate to the concept of a pharmacy and to the idea of trust in local brands.