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Douwe Egberts

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Douwe Egberts
Douwe Egberts building in Utrecht, Netherlands in 2002
Product typeCoffee
OwnerJDE Peet's
CountryNetherlands
Introduced1753
MarketsWorldwide
Previous ownersSara Lee Corporation (1978-2012)
Tagline"No ordinary jar. No ordinary coffee."
Websitewww.douwe-egberts.com
Douwe Egberts branded products in a shop in the Netherlands

Douwe Egberts is a Dutch brand specialising in coffee and related products. It is owned by of JDE Peet's, a Dutch global coffee and tea company.[1] The brand is marketed to retail consumers in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and South Africa.[2][3][4]

History

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Beginnings and expansion (1753–1978)

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The original Douwe Egberts shop, The White Ox in Joure, Netherlands, now a museum

Douwe Egberts' origins are in Joure, Netherlands where Egbert Douwes established a grocery shop called "De Witte Os" ("The White Ox") in 1752. The company later started dealing specifically in coffee, tea, and tobacco. The company transferred to his eldest son Douwe Egberts (as in Douwe, the son of Egbert) in 1780, from whom it adopted its current name.[5]

In 1925, it introduced its logo, a red seal with a "D.E." initialism.[6] Douwe Egbert's former tobacco brand White Ox was named for the original De Witte Os grocery store in Joure (Douwe Egberts later sold White Ox to Imperial Tobacco in 1998).[6]

In 1948, the company began to sell its products in Belgium, followed by France, Spain and Denmark. It founded a new holding company, Douwe Egberts Koninklijke 'Royal Douwe Egberts' in 1968, and a year later took over the Dutch coffee manufacturer Kanis & Gunnink. The company expanded through Europe, acquiring other tea, coffee and tobacco companies, such as the UK tea distributor Horniman's Tea.

Sara Lee Corporation (1978–2012)

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In 1978 Douwe Egberts was taken over by Consolidated Foods Corporation, later the Sara Lee Corporation. In 1989, Douwe Egberts purchased Van Nelle, its main Dutch competitor in coffee, tea and tobacco. It sold its tobacco interests, including Van Nelle and Drum rolling tobacco, to Imperial Tobacco in 1998.[7]

In 2001, the company collaborated with Philips to produce the Senseo coffee maker. The following year it established the Douwe Egberts Foundation, an independent entity that initiates and manages coffee and tea projects in countries of origin.

In 2007, Douwe Egberts sued the Dutch Province of Groningen for requiring coffee machine suppliers to meet the EKO organic standard[8] and fairtrade criteria established by Stichting Max Havelaar, specifically a minimum price and development premium. Douwe Egberts, which marketed its own ethically sourced coffee brands, claimed the requirements were discriminatory. The Province of Groningen prevailed in court.[9] According to Coen de Ruiter, director of Stichting Max Havelaar, the victory was a landmark, enabling governments to mandate fair trade coffee in purchasing policy to support poverty reduction efforts.[10]

D.E Master Blenders 1753 (2012–2013)

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With profits from the coffee division under threat from rivals such as Nestlé and Kraft, and being unable to find a buyer, in 2012 Sara Lee split off the coffee division into D.E Master Blenders 1753, offering share-holders one share in the new company for each main share they held.[11][12] The main Sara Lee company changed its name to Hillshire Brands.[13]

In 2012 Douwe Egberts became an independent Dutch company again, trading under the name D.E Master Blenders 1753 NV.[14]

Jacobs Douwe Egberts (2013–2020)

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A Douwe Egberts cafe in Leeuwarden in 2018

In 2013, the German investor group JAB Holding Company made an offer to purchase D.E Master Blenders 1753 for $9.8 billion.[15] The company appointed a new management and delisted the company from the Euronext stock market. D.E. Master Blenders 1753 later bought Norway's Kaffehuset Friele coffee manufacturer.[16]

In May 2014 the company announced plans to merge with the coffee division of American food conglomerate Mondelez International.[17] The merger received approval from the European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager on 5 May 2015, subject to several conditions.[18] These included a requirement that Merrild and Carte Noire brands be sold (now owned by competitor Luigi Lavazza S.p.A.), and that the Senseo brand in Austria be licensed to a competitor (Luigi Lavazza S.p.A.).

JDE Peet's (2020–)

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Jacobs Douwe Egberts merged with Peet's Coffee, another coffee business owned by JAB Holding, to form JDE Peet's which would own the Peet's chain, as well as brands including: Jacobs Coffee, Douwe Egberts, Moccona, Super Coffee, Owl Coffee, OldTown White Coffee, Kenco and Pickwick, and brewing systems including Senseo and Tassimo.[19] The company was listed in Amsterdam in May 2020. JDE Peet's has an annual turnover of approximately €7 billion.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Cheng, Andria. "With Merger And Possible IPO, Peet's Coffee May Finally Become A Real Challenger Against Starbucks". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  2. ^ "Douwe Egberts Country Selector". www.douwe-egberts.com. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
  3. ^ "F-1/A". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
  4. ^ "Coffee prices at record high after bad weather". www.bbc.com. 2024-12-11. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
  5. ^ "Douwe Egberts Heritagecenter". www.heritagecenter.info. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  6. ^ a b "Heritage". demasterblenders1753.com.
  7. ^ "Sara Lee to Sell Tobacco Unit for $1.1 Billion". Los Angeles Times. 8 April 1998.
  8. ^ "DO-IT | EKO". 2020-10-24. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  9. ^ Groningen District Court, Civil Section, Judgment in preliminary relief proceedings, Douwe Egberts Coffee Systems Netherlands B.V. v. the Province of Groningen, 23 November 2007 (ECLI:NL:RBGRO:2007:BB8575)
  10. ^ Max Havelaar Foundation (2007), [85.82.218.199/fileadmin/Bruger_filer/Dokument_database/IKAvaerktoej/EU_siden/Max_Havalaar.pdf Dutch Province of Groningen wins summary brought by Douwe Egberts and can continue specifying fair trade coffee] [dead link]
  11. ^ Emily Bryson York (28 January 2011). "Sara Lee to split into two businesses". Los Angeles Times.
  12. ^ "Sara Lee coffee spinoff D.E Master Blenders starts trading". Chicago Tribune. Reuters. 12 June 2012.
  13. ^ "Investor FAQs". Hillshire Brands.
  14. ^ Dutch Coffee Brewer Coming Home May Give Jolt to Exchange, Maud van Gaal and Maaike Noordhuis (for Bloomberg), San Francisco Chronicle, June 12, 2012
  15. ^ Mark Scott (12 April 2013). "Benckiser to Buy D.E Master Blenders for $9.8 Billion". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Company News, DEMB1753, Amsterdam.Accessed: 18 January 2014.
  17. ^ "DE and Mondelez merge". nu.nl (in Dutch). 7 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  18. ^ "Brussels agrees with merger". nu.nl (in Dutch). 5 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  19. ^ Maze, Jonathan (17 December 2019). "Jacobs Douwe Egberts to merge with Peet's and explore an IPO". Restaurant Business. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  20. ^ Cheng, Andria. "With Merger And Possible IPO, Peet's Coffee May Finally Become A Real Challenger Against Starbucks". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
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