Amsterdam’s Picnic achieves its first profit in the Netherlands: Know more

Amsterdam-based Picnic, an online supermarket, has achieved its first profit in the Netherlands at the end of the last year, thanks to its robotised distribution centre in Utrecht.

Michiel Muller, Picnic’s co-founder and director attributes this to improved efficiency, reports FD.nl.

The Dutch company didn’t disclose the exact profit amount it made, however, based on its performance in the last four weeks of 2023, it is projected to have a gross operating result (EBITDA) of €4M by the end of the year, adds the report.

‘We have always said that we want to grow quickly first and then automate. It is great that this is now leading to profitability in the Netherlands,’ he says to FD.nl.

The announcement comes around eight months after raising €355M in a fresh round of funding from its shareholders, including German supermarket chain Edeka, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, and well-known Dutch family businesses. 

The Dutch company invested in robotised distribution centres in Utrecht and Dordrecht in recent years.

Currently, 30 per cent of the groceries ordered at Picnic in the Netherlands are automatically processed by robots, claims the report.

While the Netherlands operations achieved profitability, the overall group still operates at a loss. The company reported a loss of €220.6M for the previous year and €208.7M for 2022.

The Dutch company’s net turnover increased by 34 per cent to €1.2B, with turnover in the Netherlands reaching €796M, a 28 per cent increase.

Muller stressed that the significant growth outpaced the loss, and the results were not unexpected. Even, the shareholders are aligned with this strategy and have understood the company’s financials, claims Muller to FD.nl.

Picnic: Supermarket on wheels

Founded in 2015 by Michiel Muller, Frederik Nieuwenhuys, Joris Beckers, and Bas Verheijen, Picnic quickly became a household name in the Netherlands, and their small electric vans a familiar sight. 

Before its launch in late 2015, Picnic operated in stealth for three years with a team of 30 specialists, focusing on streamlining the delivery of groceries to homes without unnecessary intermediaries. 

With Picnic, the customer can choose the most convenient delivery time, tracked through the Picnic shopping radar down to the minute. 

The innovative distribution method incurs such low costs that delivery is offered free of charge, and the groceries are competitively priced. 

The company expanded to Germany in 2018 and entered the French market in 2021.