Most folks have had a truly great idea, or two, in their lives.
You know the one that could really change things. The one that you only dare whisper to a friend whilst checking the table next to you to ensure they don’t overhear. The one that was going to make you a fortune or change the future.
The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer – Nolan Bushnell
Thing is, 99% of us never follow through. Katya Kroupnik and her co-founders are not such people and they had a great idea! After “a market analysis to assess the opportunity” their idea was turned into fruition.
Paris Picnic was born
Kroupnik explains…
My husband and I came up with the idea for Paris Picnic in 2013. We had been living here for about a year after moving from the US, were picnicking all the time, and one day we thought – wouldn’t it be nice if we could just order a picnic and have it delivered to us?
Well yes that would be nice, very nice indeed!
Le pique-nique is a way of life in Paris – whether it be on the banks of the Seine amidst the tourists, a shady spot beneath the trees of the Jardin du Luxembourg or simply a local park. In the warmer months picnics with friends for Parisians is simply de rigueur.
The 2nd best restaurant in Paris. Well kind of…
Less than two years after launching, Paris Picnic had received so many 5-star reviews on Trip Adviser it was ranked as the second-best restaurant in all of Paris! There’s about 13,000 or so to save you counting. Their categorisation has subsequently been changed – presumably the other Paris restaurateurs were nonplussed, or whatever that translates to in French.
About one in four of their customers are local. However as you would expect tourists are the mainstay. I ask which countries are their most frequent customers. Kroupnik replies
“It’s quite varied. We’ve had customers from around 100 countries, and the majority would be UK, Italians, Americans, Canadians. we get lots of customers from Scandinavian countries as well. Norway, Sweden and Denmark definitely punch above their weight. We get quite a few Australians, but not too many from New Zealand. And I can confidently say that our portion sizes fill even the biggest Aussie appetite!”
How it works.
When you order a picnic, everything is included – even the cotton blanket, which you can keep. There is a choice of four menus and four locations which are automatically accepted. These are
- Champs du Mars (Eiffel Tower)
- Tuileries Gardens
- Square du Vert-Galant
- Place des Vosges
All wonderful spots to sip, chat, munch and people-watch. Other locales are possible too but are on request. What if it rains? Well you can cancel with a refund or reschedule. It is also possible to still have your picnic under-cover with a suggestion from the Paris Picnic team.
Do you have allergy or dietary requirements? Pas de probleme (not a problem) there either. You can check their website for more details. The food is ‘market-fresh’ and organic as much as possible and from sustainable sources so whilst you’re relaxing, chatting and enjoying your experience you can also allow a slight smug sense of virtuousness.
Author’s Tip.
Some food for thought.
If you want to try to immerse as much as possible with locals rather than tourists in Paris then have a picnic in the environs of Canal St Martin. Whilst not leafy and green this part of the uber hip(ster) 10th arrondissement is very genuine and real. You will hear more French being spoken than English or Japanese around these parts and if there is a better place on earth to sit back and ‘people-watch’ then please let me know about it. I mentioned my particular love of this spot to the co-founder who gave this great suggestion…
Our new kitchen space is very close to the canal so people can also choose to pick up their picnic from the kitchen and walk over to the canal themselves
Parfait!
More information.
For getting our ideas to reality we should have great courage..nice example.
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Nicely put. Thanks for your comment.
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This business idea is a prime example of “thinking outside of the box!” Very creative and original.
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Totally agree there. Thanks for your comment 🙂
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Sounds like a good idea. Best of luck.
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This is such a great idea! I wish they had something like this everywhere. Can’t wait to visit Paris next year!
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Oh you must try one of these picnics then!! Let us know your experience 🙂
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Oh wow! This is kinda what I want to do… But for me I’m starting it all with a picnic blog! Check it out at http://www.picknicblog.com, suggestions and tips welcome! Thanks for this post – it’s great!
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Very welcome. We’ll stop by for a look for sure 🙂
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Our highlight in Paris was having champagne and cheese in the park with a view of the Eiffel tower. It’s the quintessential Paris Dream. Having a picnic sounds so wonderful!
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Totally agree Oli! Cheers
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Seriously fantastic idea. Cheers!
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Seriously agree! Cheers
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What a cool idea! I’ve always thought picnicking in Paris was cool, but when you’re a visitor, it’s too much of a hassle to arrange one but with this you can just order one!
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So true Aggy87. It really is a great idea ain’t it. You should check out the review of one of their picnics that one of our writers did too. She was blown away 🙂 Just see related posts or search the site. Cheers
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Wow, what a simple but excellent business idea ! I love picnics.
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Indeed! The best ideas always seem to be so simple don’t they… when someone else dreams them up haha
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Hmmm…you’ve got me thinking my friend 😉 I’m wondering how this would work in Asia, but then again most locals here don’t like sitting in the sun 😦
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Ok – so now you have me thinking!! I thought you were based in NYC?
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No. I was visiting there for past 2 months. I now live in Manila 😉
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So if I see Philippines Picnics take over the world soon I’ll take my commission in the used, brown envelopes as usual please :p
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haha…you got it! 😉
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That’s a great idea! 🙂
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Totally agree. Wish I had ones like those 🙂
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What a brilliant idea Paris Picnic is and what a wonderful way to enjoy the cuisine, soak up the culture and locale and immerse into the mode de vie français. I guess this concept could be applied to other European (and even Australian) cities as well, it just needs some savvy entrepreneurs to take it on.
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Agreed Miriam! I guess the difference between intent and reality is action! We have also reviewed one of their picnics as a follow up. See how thorough we are here 😉 Wasn’t me unfortunately… It should show as a related post or just search our site for ‘Paris’. Cheers
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Of course, something as important as this absolutely demands thorough researching and reviewing. Now, where can I get a job as a picnic researcher? 🙂
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Haha. Get in line behind me! :p
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Haha. We’ll be jostling but I won’t be that far behind! 🙂
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