These Millennials Bring in $15k Per Month Throwing Picnics
By: Juliet Collados
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Startup, Money, Side Hustle, Business

Whenever I hear the word “startup,” I immediately think of a Simi Valley tech company run by a 22-year-old genius who already has 7 years of work experience at Google.

This perception can be disheartening, but realistically, this is not what the majority of startups look like.

Just like us, startups come in all shapes and sizes from full-time to part-time endeavors and from apps worthy of Shark Tank investors to …picnics?

Yes, picnics.

The event and food industry has largely taken a hit during the Covid-19 pandemic due to strict limitations on numbers for gatherings — weddings have been cancelled, large corporate events have gone virtual, and restaurants have had to close.

In short, people are desperate to find new inventive ways to get out and enjoy the company of friends and family in small numbers and with the safety of being outdoors.

Picnic N’ Chill

24-year-old Jocelyn Chin and 25-year-old Coco Chan started their luxury picnic business called Picnic ’N Chill in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was devastating many business owners, explaining that they wanted to create a unique experience for people who have had to cancel any special days.

Chan was an event planner at Facebook but was laid off during the pandemic. Simultaneously, their good friend’s wedding had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, so the woman decided to throw her a picnic party so that she could still celebrate.

They got such good feedback from family and friends that they decided to turn the endeavour into a side hustle which quickly turned into full-time work and a booming business.

Now, they are planning up to 60 picnics per month and bringing in up to $15,000 monthly. -CNBC

The business exploded after the owners posted a video on Tik Tok showing the behind-the-scenes of what goes into planning a luxury picnic, and the video went viral.

It now has almost 5 million views and nearly 1 million likes.

What They Offer

There are three main packages that are offered:

“The First Date” — starting at $185 US. This is for two people for two hours and includes blankets, pillows, a mini picnic table, flowers, table settings, and a letter board.

— starting at $185 US. This is for two people for two hours and includes blankets, pillows, a mini picnic table, flowers, table settings, and a letter board. “Picnic N’ Chill” — starting at $285 US. This has the same base offering as “the first date” package and includes a Bluetooth speaker, games of choice, selfie stand with remote, tee-pee tent, and memory foam seating.

— starting at $285 US. This has the same base offering as “the first date” package and includes a Bluetooth speaker, games of choice, selfie stand with remote, tee-pee tent, and memory foam seating. “Grandeur” — starting at $400 US. This is also for two people for two hours, with the same base offering as the “picnic n’ chill” package but additionally includes a hand-made arch of choice, charcuterie board, photo op package, record player, and sparkling cider.

They also take on a lot of bigger parties like baby showers and bachelorette parties which they charge up to $1000 to $2000 for, but the price varies depending on the number of people as well as the types of ad ons that the party would like.

Scale, scale, scale

The owners put a large portion of their earnings back into the business, but are still each able to walk away with $5000-$6000 per month. -CNBC

Both Chan and Chin are very focused on the growth of their business — so much so that Chin, who is still a full-time marketing associate, plans on leaving her position to fully pursue their business.

The owners explained that it has not all been smooth sailing. There have been growing pains, especially because their success skyrocketed almost overnight.

For example, they were initially using a google form for interested clients to fill out; however, as they became inundated with requests, they quickly upgraded their website, domain, and scheduling systems.

“All of these things just happened to us so fast. We had to adapt to all these changes within one night”. -CNBC

The owners continue to pivot as demand increases, putting a good chunk of their earnings into purchasing new inventory, equipment, and table settings. They have even been taking on small micro weddings for up to 40 people!

The high demand has also led them to grow their team, bringing in four new team members to assist in all setups.

Final Thoughts

This pandemic has had all of us thinking outside of the box, and it has been fascinating to watch as unique, and niche offerings have emerged.

Pop-up picnic setups have been exploding on Instagram and Pinterest, and it is actually a fantastic side hustle to explore.

If you would like to check out the entire interview Picnic N’ Chill did with CNBC, watch the video below: