Pico Food

What Pico Food does

Pico Lebensmittel AG (commonly Pico Food) is a Swiss specialty distributor of biological food products headquartered in Dietikon with operational roots at Buckhauserstrasse 28, Zürich. Founded in 1997 by the Ledermann and Gysi families out of the Herterenhof organic farm (converted in 1985), the company supplies restaurants, communal kitchens, wholesalers, and neighborhood specialty stores across the Zurich region with a catalog of 4,000+ in-stock items and 4,000+ pre-order items, 95%+ of which are bio-certified. Its assortment is structured into five color-coded product lines (Grüne/Weisse/Rote/Braune/Blaue Linie) covering fresh produce, dairy, meat and fish, dry goods, and frozen products, plus a dedicated bio-meat online shop (picobio-shop.ch) for retail partners and a consumer-facing presence through the Farmy.ch marketplace.

The core technology stack is intentionally lightweight: order capture runs through phone, fax, email, and a password-protected B2B portal (angebot.picobio.ch), with no proprietary AI, API surface, or mobile app. Distribution is performed six days per week using refrigerated trucks from a single Dietikon hub, with minimum order quantities adapted to small specialty retailers. The company complemented this with the SMART sustainability assessment from FiBL in 2014 and rebranded from Pico Bio AG to Pico Lebensmittel AG in 2021 to comply with Swiss rules restricting the use of 'Bio' in corporate names.

Pico makes money through transactional product sales (transaction-fee economics) at market-based pricing tiers that are not publicly disclosed. Revenue flows from three primary B2B segments — Gastronomie (restaurants, communal kitchens), Fachhandel (specialty retail), and Wholesalers — supported by two secondary channels: the picobio-shop.ch drop-ship for bio meat and the Farmy.ch marketplace for private customers. GTM is enterprise field sales plus a small set of channel partners, with no external institutional investors, no funding rounds disclosed, and founder-aligned ownership led by Chairman Beat Ledermann with Thomas Zimmermann as CEO.

Name

Pico Food

Legal name

Pico Lebensmittel AG

Website

https://pico.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pico Lebensmittel AG is a Swiss specialty distributor of bio-certified food (produce, dairy, meat, dry goods, frozen) serving restaurants, communal kitchens, neighborhood retailers, and wholesalers in the Zurich region from a 4,000-SKU catalog, with refrigerated delivery six days per week.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Food Distribution

NAICS

Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing (3114)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic Produce & Specialty Vegetables Wholesale (AFAIAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate & Catering Online Ordering/Delivery (AFAIAMAK), Online B2B Grocery Supply for Small Businesses (Wholesale-to-Consumer/Prosumer) (CRAHAIAL)

Keywords

• Organic food distribution
• Biological food wholesale
• Gastronomy food supply
• Specialty food distribution
• Refrigerated food delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Dietikon

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product Sales - Food Distribution: Sale of biological food products (vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, dry goods, frozen products) to gastronomy businesses, specialty retailers, and wholesalers. Revenue generated through direct product transactions with market-competitive pricing. Products organized in five color-coded lines (Green/White/Red/Brown/Blue).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pico Lebensmittel AG is a Zurich-based B2B distributor of biological (organic) food products, supplying gastronomy businesses, specialty retailers, and wholesalers across the Zurich region with a curated assortment of vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, dry goods, and frozen products sourced primarily from regional Swiss bio-certified farms. The company delivers six days a week via refrigerated trucks and supports customers through a password-protected B2B ordering portal (angebot.picobio.ch), the Vollservice full-service program, an online shop (picobio-shop.ch), and MailChimp-based customer communications.

Product overview

Pico Lebensmittel AG operates as a biological food distributor serving the gastronomy (restaurants, communal kitchens) and specialist retail sectors in and around Zurich. The company offers a comprehensive Gastro & Retail product portfolio organized across six color-coded product lines: Grüne Linie (organic vegetables and fruits), Weisse Linie (dairy products, eggs, and milk substitutes), Rote Linie (organic meat, meat products, and fish), Braune Linie (dry products in Gastro packages), Braune Linie Detail (dry goods for retail), and Blaue Linie (frozen products and ice cream). The portfolio comprises over 4,000 in-stock items and an equal number of pre-order items, with more than 95% being bio-certified products. The company also provides a full-service offering (Vollservice) for gastronomy customers including procurement, transparent declaration, flexible ordering, refrigerated delivery up to six days per week, and consulting for regional and seasonal cuisine implementation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grüne Linie (Green Line): Vegetable and fruit product line
• Weisse Linie (White Line)
• Rote Linie (Red Line)
• Braune Linie (Brown Line)
• Blaue Linie (Blue Line)
• picobio-shop.ch

Products and services

• Vollservice Bio-Food Distribution (Full Service) Full-service biological food distribution program supplying gastronomy businesses, specialty retailers, and wholesalers in the Zurich region with a 4,000+ SKU bio-certified assortment of vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, dry goods, and frozen products. Includes daily refrigerated delivery six days a week, a password-protected B2B ordering portal (angebot.picobio.ch), transparent declaration of origin/certification/pricing, flexible minimum order quantities, and on-site expert consultation.
• picobio-shop.ch Online Shop (Bio Meat Products) Direct-to-consumer online shop operated by Pico Lebensmittel AG selling bio meat products to private customers in Switzerland. Serves as a supplementary D2C channel alongside the company's primary B2B distribution business and its presence on the Farmy.ch marketplace.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Farmy.chcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFarmy.ch is an online marketplace for transparent weekly shopping, offering over 12,000 hand-picked products from over 2,000 authentic producers. Pico products are available through this channel for private customers. A selection of Pico products is available at farmy.ch/pico-bio.
• Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (FiBL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiBL conducted a comprehensive sustainability analysis (SMART) for Pico Bio in 2013 using SAFA-Guidelines developed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The assessment covered ethical, social, and ecological sustainability criteria.
• Regio Metzg GmbHminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional meat company offering diverse high-quality bio meat products and regional specialties. Listed as online shop partner alongside Farmy.ch and shoppolino.ch for private customers seeking bio meat products.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Biotta AG: Swiss organic juice and beverage producer with deep organic supply-chain heritage. Comparable in Swiss organic food expertise and Bio Suisse certifications, though Biotta is a producer rather than distributor.
• Coop (Coop Eigene Produktion / Naturaplan): Major Swiss retailer with leading organic brand Naturaplan and Bio Suisse partnerships. Sets the pricing and assortment baseline against which specialty organic distributors like Pico must differentiate on service and producer relationships.
• Chefs Culinar Schweiz: Major Swiss foodservice distributor serving restaurants and hotels with broad product assortment including organic ranges. Comparable delivery infrastructure and gastronomy customer base, but operates at national scale with non-organic focus.
• Hilcona AG: Liechtenstein-based convenience and fresh food producer serving Swiss retail and foodservice with prepared meals and fresh proteins. Comparable in serving Swiss gastronomy and retail with fresh/frozen products, though Hilcona is manufacturer-led.
• Transgourmet Schweiz (Prodega / Growa / Howeg): Switzerland's largest foodservice broadline distributor, operating Prodega, Growa, and Howeg cash-and-carry brands. Overlaps with Pico on gastronomy delivery but at national scale with much broader (not purely organic) assortment.
• Migros (M-Industrie / M-Pro): Switzerland's largest retailer with extensive organic ranges (Terra Suisse) and integrated fresh-produce logistics. Competes indirectly with Pico on organic sourcing for restaurants and on specialty retail supply, but at massive scale across all food categories.

Emerging players

• Farmy.ch: Swiss online marketplace for direct-from-producer groceries with 12,000+ products from 2,000+ farms. Listed in Pico's distribution partnerships and overlaps on organic assortment, but reaches consumers directly rather than via B2B delivery.

Direct peers

• Bio Partner Schweiz AG: Leading Swiss wholesale distributor of organic produce, dairy, and specialty foods serving retail and gastronomy. Directly comparable as a national-scale organic food distributor with overlapping customer segments and similar bio-certified product portfolio.
• Lehmann Bio: Swiss organic food distributor supplying specialty retailers and gastronomy with bio-certified fruits, vegetables, and groceries. Closely comparable business model focused on B2B organic wholesale distribution in Switzerland.

Regional players

• Alnatura Produktions- und Handels GmbH: German organic supermarket and wholesale brand with growing Swiss presence. Comparable organic product assortment and Bio Suisse certification standards, but primarily operates in Germany rather than Swiss B2B distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/picolebensmittelag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pico-bio-ag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Pico Food