What Dirk van den Broek does

Dirk van den Broek is a privately held Dutch supermarket chain founded in 1942, headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, and operating 129+ physical stores across the Netherlands. The company positions itself as the country's lowest-price full-service grocer, codified in its "Dirk Principes" (seven pricing principles including no loyalty card, per-unit savings, eye-level price display, no delivery costs). Its single-format store concept spans 12 product departments covering fresh produce, meat, dairy, beverages, pantry, frozen, household, health and beauty, non-food, and snacks, supplemented by 16 exclusive private-label and exclusive-brand sub-brands (notably the house brand "1 de Beste" plus Bakker van der Akker fresh bakery, Kroon van Holland Gouda, and various wine, coffee, meat, and personal-care lines).

The core technology layer is minimal: Dirk operates a traditional brick-and-mortar model with no home delivery, supported by a promotional website (dirk.nl), a mobile app for browsing the weekly folder, and email/social channels. There is no proprietary technology stack, API, or AI capability disclosed in the source material. Revenue is generated exclusively through in-store retail product sales on a low-margin, high-volume basis; pricing is fixed unit pricing with no multi-buy requirements, subscriptions, or loyalty card gating. Marketing is concentrated on the award-winning weekly "Dirk Folder" (10 consecutive years as Beste Folder) plus digital channels, targeting all Dutch household segments seeking transparent, affordable grocery pricing.

The company is independently owned with no parent company, venture backing, or public listing disclosed, and no management team, funding history, M&A activity, or financial figures are present in the available data. It serves the broad Dutch consumer market through a horizontal segmentation approach, with no enterprise customers and uniform pricing for all shoppers.

Name

Dirk van den Broek

Legal name

Dirk van den Broek

Website

https://dirk.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1942

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Supermarket Grocery Retail

NAICS

Grocery and Convenience Retailers (4451)

SIC

Retail-Variety Stores (5331)

akta.pro primary industry

Value-Oriented Traditional Supermarkets (Non-Club) (CRAHAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Shelf-Stable Pantry Staples (Grains, Pasta, Rice, Beans, Canned Foods) (CRADAAAA)

Keywords

• Supermarket chain
• Grocery retail
• Private label brands
• Discount supermarket
• Fresh produce

Headquarters

HQ city

Alphen Aan Den Rijn

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retail product sales: Dirk generates revenue through the sale of grocery products across multiple categories including fresh produce, dairy, meat, beverages, household items, and personal care products. The company operates on a low-margin, high-volume retail model with competitive pricing as the primary value driver.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Dirk van den Broek operates a chain of more than 129 full-service Dutch supermarkets selling daily groceries across 12 product departments (fresh produce, meat and fish, bread, dairy and cheese, beverages, pantry, ready meals, frozen, household, health and beauty, non-food, snacks). The chain sells national A-brands alongside 13 exclusive private-label sub-brands (1 de Beste, Bakker van der Akker, Kroon van Holland, etc.) at fixed everyday low prices without requiring a loyalty card, subscription, or minimum purchase.

Product overview

Dirk van den Broek is a Dutch supermarket chain operating as a single-format full-service retailer with a broad, low-price business model. The core offering is the Dirk Supermarkt — a grocery store spanning 12 departments (Aardappelen, groente & fruit; Vlees & vis; Brood, beleg & koek; Zuivel & kaas; Dranken; Voorraadkast; Maaltijden, salades & tapas; Diepvries; Huishoud & huisdieren; Kind & drogisterij; Non food; Snacks & snoep). The portfolio is supplemented by 16 exclusive sub-brands sold only at Dirk: 1 de Beste (house brand across all categories), Bakker van der Akker (fresh bakery), Kroon van Holland (award-winning cheese), Bits & Bites (party snacks), Die 5 Groot (South African wines), Doornbosch (South African wines), Kahrel (coffee), Vleeschmeesters (fresh meat), Primá (fresh ready meals), Bakker Bollebof (pastries), Wonderwel (personal care), Boterboer (butter), and Natural Cool (bottled water). Digital add-ons include the Dirk App (mobile shopping companion), the Dirk Folder (weekly promotional catalog, 10-year Beste Folder winner), and Kanskoopjes (non-food bargain section). Dirk Principes defines the chain's no-loyalty-card, per-unit discount, low-price positioning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 1 de Beste: Het huismerk van Dirk - one of the cheapest and largest house brands on the market with top quality products at Dirk prices.
• Bakker van der Akker
• Kroon van Holland
• Bits & Bites
• Die 5 Groot
• Doornbosch
• Kahrel
• Vleeschmeesters
• Primá
• Bakker Bollebof
• Wonderwel
• Boterboer
• Natural Cool

Products and services

• Dirk Supermarkt Full-service Dutch supermarket chain offering daily groceries across 12 departments (fresh produce, meat and fish, bread, dairy and cheese, beverages, pantry, ready meals, frozen, household, health and beauty, non-food, snacks), known for low-price positioning without mandatory loyalty card.
• 1 de Beste Dirk's primary private-label (house brand) range covering groceries, dairy, household, and personal care, positioned as top quality at low prices.
• Bakker van der Akker Exclusive in-store fresh-baked bread range produced with premium ingredients in Dirk stores.
• Kroon van Holland Exclusive North Holland Gouda 48+ cheese only available at Dirk.
• Bits & Bites Exclusive party snacks and appetizers brand offering tapas, cheese, and olives at low prices.
• Die 5 Groot Exclusive South African wine range available in five varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Shiraz.
• Doornbosch Five South African quality wines specially developed for and available only at Dirk.
• Kahrel Exclusive coffee brand offering good-quality coffee at Dirk's low prices.
• Vleeschmeesters Dirk's meat brand featuring a refreshed product range with new offerings alongside familiar items.
• Primá Fresh ready meals brand available in 7 different dishes ranging from nasi to spaghetti bolognese.
• Bakker Bollebof Sweet pastries and treats brand offering a variety of sweet goods at sharp Dirk prices.
• Wonderwel Exclusive personal care brand offering shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner at Dirk's low prices.
• Boterboer Butter brand offering block butter for cooking and spreadable butter for bread at low prices.
• Natural Cool Mineral, lightly sparkling, or sparkling water brand available exclusively at Dirk.
• Kanskoopjes Non-food bargain section featuring rotating deals on items such as clothing, kitchenware, home goods, camping gear, and seasonal items at exceptionally low prices.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Albert Heijn (Ahold Delhaize): Largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands (~35% market share) operating ~1,100+ stores under AH, Albert Heijn XL, and AH to go formats. Directly comparable: same grocery retail category, same Dutch customer base, broad assortment, and competing on price-quality combination. Ahold Delhaize's portfolio scale dwarfs Dirk, but both compete for the same weekly Dutch grocery basket.
• Spar Nederland: International franchise-based convenience/small-format grocery operator with ~250+ stores in the Netherlands under Spar, Spar University, and related banners. Comparable on Dutch grocery retail and fresh-led positioning; smaller footprint per store than Dirk but overlapping customer base for top-up and convenience grocery shopping.

Direct peers

• Jumbo: Second-largest Dutch supermarket chain (~20% share, ~700 stores) competing head-on with Dirk on full-line grocery assortment, private label (Jumbo brand), and price. Jumbo also competes with an active online grocery delivery platform, making it a directly comparable Dutch value-and-variety operator with overlapping customer base.
• Lidl Nederland: German hard discounter operating ~440+ stores in the Netherlands with aggressive private-label-led low-price positioning. Lidl is the most direct competitor to Dirk on price-sensitive Dutch shoppers, though with a more limited assortment than Dirk's broad 12-department format. Comparable on: low-price positioning, private-label strength, no-frills store experience.
• Aldi Nederland: German hard discounter with ~120+ stores in the Netherlands, competing on a private-label-heavy limited assortment at the lowest price tier. Direct competitor to Dirk's price-sensitive customer base; key difference is Aldi's narrower SKU range versus Dirk's broad full-line assortment.
• Plus Supermarkten: Dutch full-line supermarket chain with ~270+ stores, cooperative-owned, positioned in the value-quality segment similar to Dirk. Competes directly on broad assortment and everyday low pricing without mandatory loyalty card. Comparable on customer profile and store format, slightly smaller than Dirk.
• Netto Marken-Discount: German discount supermarket with Dutch operations, owned by Salling Group. Operates hard-discount stores with a tighter assortment than Dirk but competing on price and private label. Directly comparable on price-positioning and Dutch customer base, though format is more limited-assortment than Dirk's full-line offer.

Regional players

• Hoogvliet: Regional Dutch supermarket chain with ~65+ stores concentrated in the Randstad region, family-owned. Competes with Dirk on broad assortment and price in the same Dutch geographies; relevant comparable for store format and value positioning, but smaller scale and geographically narrower.
• Coop (Netherlands): Cooperative Dutch supermarket with regional concentration in the north and east of the Netherlands. Smaller and more geographically narrow than Dirk but operates a comparable broad-line full-service supermarket format targeting value-conscious Dutch families.

Emerging players

• Picnic: Dutch online-only grocery delivery operator using electric vans and a hub-and-spoke model, rapidly scaling across the Netherlands. Not a direct format competitor (pure e-commerce vs Dirk's brick-and-mortar) but a meaningful competitive overlap on the same Dutch grocery basket and increasingly setting customer expectations for convenience and delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights3 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCyPYLMOSL0oEzfVwtZF9R_g
• Facebookfacebook.com/dirksupermarkten
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dirk-van-den-broek-supermarkten
• TikToktiktok.com/@dirksupermarkten
• Xx.com/dirkvdbroekc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dirk van den Broek