Douwe Egberts
D.E. Master Blenders 1753 NV[1]|
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Private |
|---|
| Industry |
Beverage |
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| Founded |
1753 |
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| Founder |
Egbert Douwes |
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| Headquarters |
Amsterdam, Netherlands |
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| Products |
Coffee and Tea/ Tobacco/ Coffee brewing machines. |
|---|
| Parent |
Joh. A. Benckiser |
|---|
Douwe Egberts is the main brand name for D.E. Master Blenders 1753, a multinational tea and coffee company operating out of the Netherlands.[2] It was founded in the Netherlands by Egbert Douwes in 1753 as The White Ox (De Witte Os) a general grocery shop, which later developed into a company dealing in coffee, tea, and tobacco. By 1925 it had changed its name to Douwe Egberts, and had introduced the red seal as its logo.[3] The company expanded through Europe, acquiring other tea, coffee and tobacco companies, such as the UK tea distributor Hornimans, until it was taken over by the Sara Lee Corporation in 1978. The tobacco interests, Van Nelle and Drum rolling tobacco, were sold to Imperial Tobacco in 1998,[4] then in 2001 the company in collaboration with Philips produced the Senseo coffee maker system. 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.[5][6] The main Sara Lee company changed name to Hillshire Brands.[7] In 2013 German investor group Joh. A. Benckiser made an offer to purchase D.E Master Blenders 1753 for $9.8 billion.[8]
Chronology
The original Douwe Egberts shop, The White Ox in
Joure, is now a museum
- 1753 - Egbert Douwes starts a grocery shop in Joure, called De Witte Os ("the White Ox").
- 1780 - The company is transferred to his eldest son Douwe Egberts. Its main activities are processing and trading coffee, tea, and tobacco.
- 1948 - DE starts sales in Belgium. France, Spain, and Denmark follow.
- 1968 - A holding company, Douwe Egberts Koninklijke ("Royal Douwe Egberts"), is founded.
- 1969 - DE takes over Kanis & Gunnink, another Dutch coffee manufacturer.
- 1978 - DE is in its turn taken over by Consolidated Foods Corporation.
- 1985 - Consolidated Foods becomes Sara Lee Corporation as a result of acquisitions that year.
- 1989 - DE takes over Van Nelle, its main Dutch competitor in coffee, tea, and tobacco.
- 1998 - The hand-rolling tobacco business (Drum, Van Nelle, Amphora and Winner) is sold to Imperial Tobacco.
- 2001 - The company collaborates with Philips to produce a coffee maker called Senseo.
- 2002 - The company establishes the Douwe Egberts Foundation, an independent entity that initiates and manages coffee and tea projects in countries of origin
- 2007 - Sued the province of Groningen over the introduction of rules stating that all coffee supplied in the province must meet Fair trade criteria set by Stichting Max Havelaar. Courts ruled in favour of the province of Groningen.
- 2012 - Douwe Egberts becomes an independent Dutch company again, trading under the name D.E Master Blenders 1753 NV[1]
- 2013 - German investor group Joh. A. Benckiser announces it will buy Netherlands-headquartered D.E. Master Blenders 1753 NV for $9.8bn, appoints new management and delists company from Euronext stock market. DEMB1753 later buys Norway's Kaffehuset Friele coffee manufacturer. Coffee production in Bergen, Norway, 'will continue as before'.[9]
Brands
Brands owned by D.E. Master Blenders 1753 include Douwe Egberts ground and instant coffee; also Douwe Egberts Coffee Systems and Coffee Care, a drinks supply.
- Pickwick tea
- Horniman's Tea
- Natrena (artificial sweeteners)
- Merrild (coffee, in Denmark, Iceland)
- Kanis & Gunnink (coffee)
- Senseo (coffee-maker, in conjunction with Philips)
- Piazza d'Oro (espresso)
- Cafitesse (coffee concentrates and systems)
- Moccona (instant coffee)
- Cafe Switch, a frothy coffee drink that is frothed using thumb pods
- Cafe Pilao (coffee brand in Brazil)
- Harris (Coffee and filter papers in Australia)
- Maison du Café (Coffee, in France)
- Caffiato, an iced cappuccino with caramel flavour
- Marcilla (Spain)[10]
- Friele (Norway)
References
External links
