Dutch grocery delivery company Picnic is going across the border. As of April, the start-up will launch in the region around Dusseldorf under the name Sprinter Supermarket.
Earlier, the grocery start-up ran a successful pilot in this area. Four major cities in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Kaarst, Neuss, Meerbusch and Oberkassel) will be supplied with groceries from 1 April. Should this prove successful, it will expand to other cities. In the Netherlands, Picnic also continues to make significant inroads, with Amsterdam as its most recent feat.
The name may be different, but the distinctive electric trolleys for the last mile will remain the same. In total, around 20 of them will drive around the cities.
Distribution
Michiel Muller, co-founder Picnic, revealed in a press statement that he sees Germany as a great opportunity. ''18 million people live in North Rhine-Westphalia alone. The results from the pilot are promising and we have set up an all-German infrastructure that can handle the demand.'' This uses a hub in Neuss and its own distribution centre in Viersen.
Another advantage is competition, which is virtually non-existent in Germany. Although Amazon operates there, it works with high entry prices and additional costs for participating in grocery delivery. Picnic is the first to offer free delivery.
