Online supermarket Picnic fastest-growing company in the Netherlands

Picnic is the fastest-growing company in the Netherlands. That is shown by the ranking of the 250 fastest growing Dutch companies. The list was presented by NLgroeit and Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship (ECE) of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) on 20 March 2019.

Picnic, also the youngest company in this list, created 1,697 new jobs (in FTE) and exhibited the most rapid growth in the period spanning year-end 2015 to year-end 2018. Co-founder Michiel Muller, who spoke at the RSM Leadership Summit 2018, received the ‘Gouden Groeier’ award from Jitse Groen of TakeAway.com, during the NLgroeit annual event at Businessboost Live in Ahoy Rotterdam. Altogether, the 250 companies on this list generated more than 40,000 jobs (in FTE) in this period; the top 10 alone created 21,675 of those jobs.

To make the list of Top 250 Scale-ups 2019, a company has to employ the equivalent of at least 10 FTEs and/or have a turnover of at least €5 million at the start of the measuring period. Companies also have to realise an average annual growth of at least 20 per cent in the number of FTEs and/or turnover in the measuring period spanning December 2015 through December 2018. The top 10 is compiled from companies that have created the most jobs in FTEs in this period and shown the highest average growth in FTEs.

The 10 companies were ranked twice: once for the number of jobs generated in FTEs in the period stated, and once for their average annual growth in FTEs. Next, the average of these two rankings was used for their final ranking. If two companies finished with the same ranking, the proportional growth of both companies in relation to both criteria was assessed. The one exhibiting the most growth was then ranked higher.

**Youngest and fastest growing company**

With its new distribution method, Picnic is able to bring groceries around to a neighbourhood without using any intermediaries. The customer chooses which delivery run is most convenient and knows down to the half-hour exactly when the delivery will be made. Thanks to the low delivery costs associated with this distribution method, grocery prices are kept low and delivery is free. Picnic is the youngest company in the Top 250 Growth Companies: 8 per cent of the companies in the list is 5 years old or younger, 36 per cent is between 6 and 10 years old, and 27 per cent is between 11 and 15. Of the 250 companies in the list, 62 are based in Noord-Holland (of which 39 in Amsterdam), 52 in Zuid-Holland (of which 22 in Rotterdam). Noord-Brabant is in third place with 48 companies.

The milkman is back

“When we started with Picnic, we never could have dreamt that it would grow so quickly. The milkman is back,” said Picnic’s co-founder Michiel Muller. “From the beginning we have built Picnic together with customers. That’s why we now have something that people really want. It’s great to see the excitement of customers, and to get so many nice responses from them.”

Thousands of extra jobs

For its annual survey of the most rapidly growing companies in the Netherlands, ECE’s ScaleUp Dashboard used various sources of data, including existing public data sources as well as its own research. The research was led by Professor Justin Jansen, academic director of ECE and professor of corporate entrepreneurship at RSM. Prof. Jansen spoke about the Top 250 Growth Companies 2019: “The ScaleUp Dashboard is the first list to really measure up and assess companies in the Netherlands with more than 10 employees. The overview of the Netherlands’ 250 companies showing the fastest growth not only demonstrates which companies generate the most jobs, it also singles out the ones that are the most productive.” Last year’s list was topped by Takeaway.com. In 2018, the 250 companies in the list jointly created more than 32,000 jobs in the period spanning year-end 2014 through year-end 2017.

Top 10:

Picnic
Takeaway
Rituals
Action
Young Capital
Elastic
Coolblue
Calco
Adyen
BasicFit

More information

NLgroeit is a multi-year programme with the goal of increasing growth among small and medium-sized enterprises. This is done by raising awareness of growth opportunities among entrepreneurs, encouraging them to make use of coaching and training opportunities, and facilitating finding an ideal match with a mentor or programme. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Chamber of Commerce, NLevator, and NL2025. Kees de Jong of NLgroeit: ‘It’s great to see that a majority of the entrepreneurs in the Top 250 are involved in NLgroeit. More than 750 growing entrepreneurs have been successfully matched with a mentor, and naturally we hope to see them back in the Top 250 Growth Companies next year.’

The Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship is the leading centre for entrepreneurship in Europe. Fuelled by the belief that entrepreneurship is a primary driver for innovation, the centre strives to embed entrepreneurship in people’s DNA. Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship does not create companies. It creates entrepreneurs through Erasmus University Rotterdam’s network and knowledge: a university that was founded by entrepreneurs more than a century ago. Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship has a clear idea of the factors needed for successfully starting and growing a company. Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship monitors and conducts research into rapidly growing companies and presents these results in the ScaleUp Dashboard.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe’s top-ranked business schools. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers. www.rsm.nl

For more information about RSM or this release, please contact Erika Harriford-McLaren, communications manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at harriford@rsm.nl.