Michiel Muller — The decisions behind Picnic

From a trial with 150 households in the Dutch city of Amersfoort to almost €2 billion in revenue. Which decisions made the difference?

In 2015 Michiel Muller, Joris Beckers, Frederik Nieuwenhuys and Bas Verheijen started a supermarket without shops: groceries ordered in an app, at the lowest price and delivered free to the door in small electric vans. Ten years later Picnic delivers in three countries, but as a group it is still losing hundreds of millions a year.

But behind that success lies a far more complicated story.

In this independent FOREFACT publication you discover why free delivery only works with fixed routes and a waiting list, why Dutch families invested hundreds of millions, how Picnic went to Germany with Edeka and worked with three different purchasing partners in France, and why robotic warehouses became so important. It doesn’t only cover the successes. It also examines the setbacks: a loss of €208.7 million in 2022, overcapacity after the pandemic, the legal battle over the supermarket collective labour agreement and a net loss of €272 million in the anniversary year 2025.

From story to practice

This is more than a founder biography. As you read, you are challenged to make decisions yourself. In six in-depth Decision Labs you learn, among other things, to calculate the margin per order and the cost per stop, run the numbers on runway and dilution, weigh a purchasing partner against doing it yourself, and test the payback period of automation and the impact of wage costs.

What do you get?

• 45 pages with the full founder story.

• Eight chronological chapters on how Picnic developed.

• Six Decision Labs with business theory and fictional worked examples.

• Twelve digitally fillable worksheet pages with 24 fields in total and answer checks.

• A six-week Reality Test to apply the lessons yourself.

• A historical timeline and a box on what’s different in the Netherlands.

• 36 source references for further reading and verification.

Who is this guide for?

For curious readers, (aspiring) entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to understand how a Dutch online supermarket grew without shops. Also of interest if you want to learn more about e-commerce, logistics, investors and international expansion.

You don’t just read how Picnic grew. You examine which decisions, risks and lessons you can apply yourself.

Digital product · 45 pages · PDF · Available immediately after purchase

This publication was developed independently by FOREFACT and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Michiel Muller, Joris Beckers, Frederik Nieuwenhuys, Bas Verheijen, Picnic or any affiliated companies.