Online supermarket Crisp raises €35 million to expand platform

Online supermarket Crisp has raised €35 million to further expand its fresh food platform in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Crisp, which was founded as a supermarket app for fresh food in 2018, said it will use the investment to expand its sustainable food system which offers predominantly local and seasonal groceries, with a short chain from farm to table.

In addition, the firm said it will end the year with a CO2-neutral operation while last month it submitted an application for the B Corp label. This is a certificate that verifies a business is meeting certain standards in relation to supply chain practices, among others.

Tom Peeters, co-founder and CEO at Crisp said: “We are proud of this round, even though it took more effort in the current climate. However, investors have been able to see that with Crisp we are clearly staying the course with a healthy product and sustainable model, in a turbulent economy. That gives confidence.”

The latest round of funding is supported by both existing and new investors, including top Dutch entrepreneurs and family funds. According to Crisp, growing consumer awareness for tasty food aligned with responsible practices has resulted in 30% growth over the past 12 months. On average, those customers fill large shopping baskets of 85 euros and show high customer loyalty while 90% of orders are repeat purchases, the firm said.

Peters said: “We have managed to improve our margin through a focus on continuous cost rationalisation and greater efficiency in our supply chain. That was also necessary, given last year’s high inflation. We are not immune to that.”

He added: “We are now first focusing on our current markets, realizing our sustainability ambitions and our operating results. Our own technology enables us to offer ingredients as well as meals and meal boxes, from one efficient technological platform. I expect the Netherlands to be profitable before the summer. Belgium will follow the year after, as we have only been operational there for a year.”