Growth through price increases at JDE Peet's

Coffee giant JDE Peet’s, the parent company of Douwe Egberts and Senseo, has had another good year. Sales rose by 6.1 per cent and, despite price increases, market share grew.

Leader in price increases

CEO Fabien Simon is delighted with the results of 2021: the coffee and tea group delivered on all its promises, even with 2021 being yet another year of unexpected global disruptions. For the full year, organic turnover rose by 6.1 per cent and accelerated to 7.9 per cent in the second half of the year. The latter is related to the easing of the Covid measures in the hospitality industry.

“2021 marked the year where we refocused on our founding entrepreneurial values. We set out our new strategic framework, re-invested in our powerful portfolio, and reinforced our operational discipline”, Simon said. 

Senseo’s and Pickwick‘s parent company was one of the first in the industry to raise prices but remained remarkably unaffected: market shares stayed strong, the absolute margin per cup increased, and the group also improved its cash flow.

110 million euros of investments

With this free cash flow, JDE Peet’s paid for more than 110 million euros in investments, including investments in sustainability. For example, the proportion of reusable or recyclable products increased to 88 per cent, and packaging now consists of 40 per cent recycled material. In the meantime, no waste from the European factories ends up in landfills. In total, the coffee group produces 15 per cent less waste during production.

This year, JDE Peet’s is keeping its eyes open for potential acquisitions or other opportunities, although it is carefully monitoring its other costs. If inflation continues, prices will also continue to rise, the coffee producer warns. Nevertheless, the group counts on double-digit sales growth for the whole year.