DE, is a brand by JDE Peet’s.
The history of DE goes back to 1753 (!), which means it pre-dates the declaration of independence of the USA by more than 2 decades. In 1753, Egbert Douwes started a grocery shop (De Witte Os – The White Ox) in Joure, the Northern of Netherlands. The brand is named after his son: Douwe Egberts. This reversal of names might seem strange, however this was before families had fixed last names. The name can be understood as Douwe, (child) from Egbert.
It is thought that the brand is named after the son (Douwe Egberts) instead of the farther (Egbert Douwes), because the latter was primary known locally as he was operating the shop, while the son was (geographically) wider known as he was responsible for regional sales.
The initials of Douwe Egberts (DE) are prominently shown on the seal logo, introduced in 1925, which is aimed to reflect quality. In 1937 DE introduced pickwick, today a globally known tea brand, and in 1954 they introduced instant coffee under the name Moccona.
To further leverage global presence, in 1978 the company enters in a partnership with the US based Consolidated Foods (which would later become Sara Lee).
In 2001, DE enters the single-serve market with their Senseo coffee pads and machine (wiki) together with hardware supplier Philips.
In 2011, the coffee and tea business was disconnected from Sara Lee and in 2012 D.E. MASTER BLENDERS 1753 was established to continue this business. This company was listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange only for a year before it was taken private again by a consortium of investors lead by Joh. A. Benckiser (JAB – wiki), valuing the company at around 7.5 billion EUR.
Only 2 years later, in 2015, D.E Master Blenders merged with the coffee division of Mondelez International (the international branch of Kraft Food) featuring the brand of Jacobs to form JDE.
In 2020, Jacob Douwe Egberts merged with Peet’s to form JDE Peet’s, the world’s leading pure-play coffee and tea company, headquartered in The Netherlands. JDE Peet’s is listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and has a portfolio of brands which also include L’Or and Jacobs. In 2021, JDE Peet’s generated total sales of EUR 7 billion and employed a global workforce of more than 19,000 employees.
Read more:
- wiki DE / Douwe Egberts
- DE history EN / NL
- parent company JDE Peet’s and history
- our own page about Nespresso and the role Peet’s played
The brands name and logos are trademark of their respective owners, I am not associated with any of the companies named and use the images only for illustrative purposes.
