How it started
Beginnings and expansion (1753–1978)
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 in 1780, from whom it adopted its current name.
In 1925, it introduced its logo, a red seal with a "D.E." initialism. 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, 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)
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.
From Wikipedia’s article on Douwe Egberts, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2