Dutch online-only supermarket Picnic raises €100 million

Picnic, an online-only supermarket operating in selected cities in the Netherlands, has raised 100 million euros in funding from NPM Capital, De Hoge Dennen, Hoyberg and Finci. With the money, Picnic wants to further expand across the country.

With the huge investment Picnic wants to open five new distribution centers and seventy local hubs as well as use 2,000 electric cars so groceries can be delivered quickly to the startup’s customers. At the moment, Picnic is mostly available in and around the city of Utrecht, but with 100 million euros in funding it could soon launch its service to customers in the megalopolis Randstad, where 7.5 million Dutch live.

Competing with Albert Heijn and Jumbo

With the raised money, Picnic will be competing heavily with Albert Heijn and Jumbo, two major Dutch supermarket chains that sell online for years now (see also our article about how these two compete online in different ways). Picnic was founded just 18 months ago and generated 30 million euros in sales last year. The expansion of Picnic in the Netherlands should lead to the creation of 10,000 jobs, both in distribution centers and in delivery.