Mr. Egberts and Ymke Jacobs Visser were married in 1775 and in 1780, at the age of 25, he began helping his parents run the now internationally successful family business. With mother, father and son at the helm, the business grew by leaps and bounds.
Despite the fact that Egbert Douwes was a well-known figure in Joure, it was his son Douwe Egberts who was in charge of expanding the business to other surrounding areas and that is why the family business was renamed Douwe Egberts Coffee. Douwe Egberts decided to further expand the company, to other parts of the country, and opened a branch in Utrecht.
Its Coffee seal of quality, which began as a wax seal in the early days of the company, was first used as part of a tobacco packaging design in 1925. Over the years, the seal has also Appeared in other colors, such as yellow, green, gold and blue, mainly to show the different qualities of various products.
In 1928, the company celebrated its 175th year in business. For 2 days, the entire Joure community joined in the celebrations, which began with a Holy Mass, a parade through Midstreet, where the company first opened its doors, and ended with a spectacular fireworks display.
In 1929, just ten years after its first opening in Utrecht, the company expanded with the purchase of a factory and accommodation. This building, located on Merwede Kade, is still in business as the Douwe Egberts Coffee Company, more than 80 years later.
In 1940, during World War II, coffee was unavailable, prompting the government to devise a substitute. Dutch coffee roasters began producing this substitute coffee, which consisted of ingredients such as beans, chicory, peas, barley, tulip bulbs, and acorns. Douwe Egberts Coffee made and sold 68 million packets of this substitute coffee, which they called Fama, until production stopped in 1952.
In 1954, Douwe Egberts Coffee realized how popular instant coffee was becoming and that same year they produced their own brand called Moccona in the Netherlands. Years later, in 1993, the Douwe Egberts research and development department came up with even more products, in the form of instant coffee cappuccino and latte.
His television advertisement was one of the first to air in the Netherlands in 1967, highlighting the fact that drinking coffee could help bring people together socially.
There were many developments in the company from 1978 to 2001, including its alliance with Sara Lee Corporation, the development of an artificial sweetener, as well as the launch of the famous Senseo machine. The company celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2003 in the Netherlands with large celebrations as a gesture of appreciation to employees and consumers for their contribution to the company’s success.