In Belgium, Hopr will start delivering groceries from next year. Entrepreneur Stijn Martens wants to offer a Belgian answer to foreign initiatives with his online supermarket.
There are no supermarkets in Belgium yet that only sell online and have no physical branches. "I want to launch a Belgian alternative to Picnic. Belgians now shop at Dutch companies such as bol.com and Albert Heijn. A local initiative is allowed in return," Martens told De Tijd.
Martens will start a trial in a Belgian city early next year. Hopr is starting small with three electric vans. "Picnic also started with one van," says the 39-year-old entrepreneur. "Now they are on a conquest tour in the Netherlands and Germany. A fortnight ago, they raised 250 million euros."
Hopr does not charge for delivery. Martens hopes to eventually make a profit through automation and scale.
