Edeka invests in online supermarket Picnic

The Dutch start-up is to take over Edeka's online business. Picnic also plans to deliver outside NRW as early as next year.

Germany's largest food retailer Edeka is investing in Dutch start-up Picnic. Edeka is taking a stake in both the German subsidiary and parent company Picnic International. "Picnic will become the online arm of Edeka," Edeka CEO Markus Mosa said at the Wirtschaftspublizistische Vereinigung in Düsseldorf, according to Wirtschaftswoche

Edeka will supply Picnic with products in the future and will take over the supply of goods with its purchasing company Everest. "We are not seeking a majority stake in the company, no control," Mosa continued. Such a complex business is best left to those who can, he added. "No brick-and-mortar retailer can end up being better online than a true e-commerce retailer."

So far, Picnic only operates in North Rhine-Westphalia. It quadrupled its number of customers from 50,000 to 200,000 within a year. The start-up delivers food with 400 e-cars in now 45 cities in NRW. Next year, Picnic also plans to deliver outside North Rhine-Westphalia. Picnic delivers - unlike competitors not in a time slot - but at predetermined times.