Bedard Medical ‘makes the list’

AUBURN, Maine – CEO Ben Nadeau had heard of the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America, but he never dreamed Bedard Medical would be on it—until his colleagues encouraged him to apply. 

“I was talking to some of my peers about how we were growing and it was getting hard to keep up, and they asked, ‘Oh, are you going to be on the Inc. 5000 list?” he said. “I ran the numbers and thought, 'Holy crap, we might this year. We might actually make the list.’” 

With three-year revenue growth of 147%, Bedard Medical ranked No. 3521. 

The company has three major divisions: Bedard Pharmacy, Bedard Senior Care Pharmacy and Bedard Medical Supplies, which has seen the largest uptick in business. 

"2014 to 2015 is when we started to see this methodical growth," said Nadeau. "We started trying to differentiate ourselves in the market and branched out our product offerings a little bit, but for the most part, our resupplies business has been our biggest growth engine.” 

Nadeau also credits his employees for building Bedard’s reputation as a company sought out by patients, manufacturers and potential employees alike. 

“People reach out to us because they heard we’re a phenomenal place to work for,” said Nadeau. “We have referral sources that want to do business with us because of how our staff treats patients.” 

It’s hard to say what’s more impressive, Bedard’s success or its history. The oldest record of Bedard's origins dates to 1898. At that time, Bedard was just a corner drugstore soda shop in downtown Lewiston, Maine. 

"When COVID happened, it was like, this isn’t our first pandemic,” said Nadeau. “We survived 1918; we'll get through this, too. In 125 years, you deal with everything. In the face of adversity, just keep moving forward.”