25th March 2010 - download as PDF here
Drie Mollen Holding re-brands as United Coffee - New brand reflects ambitious European growth strategy
Drie Mollen Holding, one of Europe’s largest coffee businesses established in 1818, announces today that it has changed its name to United Coffee. The company is also relocating its head office to Geneva to ensure it is at the centre of the European coffee market. Drie Mollen branded coffee will continue to be available in its existing markets.
The new company name reflects its strategic ambition to become Europe’s leading independent coffee company, through a combination of consolidating a fragmented market and organic growth. United Coffee recently appointed Per Harkjaer to lead this process. Per was previously Group CEO of Findus Foods and has almost 30 years experience across the FMCG industry.
The company is one of the largest coffee roasters in Europe, a market leader within the private label and single portion coffee sector and owns many successful retail and out-of-home brands, including Grand Café, Templo, Rosca, and Smit & Dorlas.
United Coffee provides local brands for European markets, with strong central support and efficient and large scale roasting facilities. Over 20 million cups of United Coffee are enjoyed every day across Europe.
As part of the rebranding process, United Coffee is pleased to confirm three new appointments in order to further strengthen the senior management team - Xavier Tallon joins from Johnson & Johnson as the Head of Supply Chain, Heleen van Benthem joins from Stegeman as the new head of the firm’s Dutch subsidiary, Drie Mollen Sinds 1818, and Hans Gorter joins from Swarovski as the Human Resources Director.
The initiatives announced today mark the starting point of the firm’s growth strategy to become Europe’s leading independent supplier of quality coffee and related products.
Per Harkjaer, CEO of United Coffee commented: “I am delighted to announce the creation of United Coffee and the appointment of Xavier, Heleen and Hans who are highly experienced and well regarded across industry. The relocation of our head office to Geneva will enable us to retain and attract leading talent, helping to strengthen our position across the industry.
“United Coffee is one of the leading producers of single portion coffee, one of the few food or drink categories that is reporting strong growth across Europe and we are planning to capitalise on this growth through a major investment programme across the firm. Together with the senior management team, I look forward to developing the company into the leading independent coffee business across the various local markets in Europe.”
About United Coffee
Headquartered in Geneva (from June 2010), United Coffee is one of Europe’s largest coffee roasters, producing and distributing a wide range of coffee, coffee equipment and related services through retail and out-of–home distribution channels. From its beginnings in 1818, United Coffee now employs 800 people and roasts over 50,000 tons of coffee per year. Backed by mid-market private equity fund, CapVest, United Coffee is a leading force across six European countries, including the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, France, Germany and the UK, and currently purchases 1% of the world’s total coffee exports, 3.2% within Western European. United Coffee’s clients include: Tesco, Waitrose, Mercadona, Lidl, Superunie, C-1000 and Coop. Its Food Service clients also include: Subway, McDonalds and many thousands of local cafes and restaurants.
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