Douwe Egberts

File:Joure_De_Witte_Os.jpg, 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.{{Cite web |title=Douwe Egberts Heritagecenter |url=https://www.heritagecenter.info/en/history |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=www.heritagecenter.info}}

In 1925, it introduced its logo, a red seal with a "D.E." initialism.{{cite web |title=Heritage |url=http://www.demasterblenders1753.com/en/about-us/Our-heritage/#Tabs |publisher=demasterblenders1753.com}} 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).

In 1948, the company began to sell its products in Belgium, followed by France, Spain and Denmark. It founded a new holding company, {{lang|nl|Douwe Egberts Koninklijke}} {{gloss|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.

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.{{cite web |date=8 April 1998 |title=Sara Lee to Sell Tobacco Unit for $1.1 Billion |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-08-fi-37111-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times}}

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{{Cite web |date=2020-10-24 |title=DO-IT {{!}} EKO |url=https://www.organic.nl/organic-interest/certificates/eko.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024150439/https://www.organic.nl/organic-interest/certificates/eko.html |archive-date=2020-10-24 |access-date=2023-03-04}} 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.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 ([https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:RBGRO:2007:BB8575 ECLI:NL:RBGRO:2007:BB8575]) 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.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|date=November 2020}}

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.{{cite web |author=Emily Bryson York |date=28 January 2011 |title=Sara Lee to split into two businesses |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2011-jan-28-la-fi-0129-sara-lee-20110128-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times}}{{cite web |date=12 June 2012 |title=Sara Lee coffee spinoff D.E Master Blenders starts trading |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/06/12/sara-lee-coffee-spinoff-de-master-blenders-starts-trading/ |work=Chicago Tribune |agency=Reuters}} The main Sara Lee company changed its name to Hillshire Brands.{{cite web |title=Investor FAQs |url=http://www.hillshirebrands.com/InvestorRelations/InvestorFAQs.aspx |publisher=Hillshire Brands}}

In 2012 Douwe Egberts became an independent Dutch company again, trading under the name D.E Master Blenders 1753 NV.[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/06/12/bloomberg_articlesM5GQHT0UQVI901-M5I0V.DTL Dutch Coffee Brewer Coming Home May Give Jolt to Exchange], Maud van Gaal and Maaike Noordhuis (for Bloomberg), San Francisco Chronicle, June 12, 2012

File:Douwe Egberts Koffie & Lunch, Leeuwarden (2018) 02.jpg 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.{{cite web |author=Mark Scott |date=12 April 2013 |title=Benckiser to Buy D.E Master Blenders for $9.8 Billion |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/benckiser-to-buy-d-e-master-blenders-for-9-8-billion/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 |work=The New York Times}} 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.[http://www.demasterblenders1753.com/en/Media/company-news/ Company News, DEMB1753, Amsterdam].Accessed: 18 January 2014.

In May 2014 the company announced plans to merge with the coffee division of American food conglomerate Mondelez International.{{Cite news |date=7 May 2014 |title=DE and Mondelez merge |url=http://www.nu.nl/economie/3769565/douwe-egberts-en-mondelez-fuseren.html |access-date=5 May 2015 |newspaper=nu.nl |language=nl}} The merger received approval from the European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager on 5 May 2015, subject to several conditions.{{Cite news |date=5 May 2015 |title=Brussels agrees with merger |url=http://www.nu.nl/beurs/4043636/brussel-stemt-in-met-fusie-master-blenders-en-mondelez.html |access-date=5 May 2015 |newspaper=nu.nl |language=nl}} 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.).

{{Main|JDE Peet's}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Maze |first1=Jonathan |date=17 December 2019 |title=Jacobs Douwe Egberts to merge with Peet's and explore an IPO |url=https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/jacobs-douwe-egberts-merge-peets-explore-ipo |access-date=29 May 2020 |work=Restaurant Business |language=en}} The company was listed in Amsterdam in May 2020. JDE Peet's has an annual turnover of approximately €7 billion.{{Cite web |last=Cheng |first=Andria |title=With Merger And Possible IPO, Peet's Coffee May Finally Become A Real Challenger Against Starbucks |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2019/12/17/with-merger-and-possible-ipo-peets-coffee-could-finally-become-a-real-challenger-against-starbucks/ |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Forbes |language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{commons category-inline|Douwe Egberts}}
• {{official website|http://www.douwe-egberts.com/}}

Category:JDE Peet's

Category:Coffee brands

Category:Food and drink companies established in 1753

Category:Drink companies of the Netherlands

Category:Dutch brands

Category:Tea brands

Category:Buildings and structures in Utrecht (city)

Category:Coffee in Europe

Category:Agriculture companies of the Netherlands