A story that blends love with tradition...

 

1896

It all started in Antwerp when Frans Rombouts decided to rent a roasting cylinder and began roasting coffee himself, much to the delight of knowledgeable coffee lovers.

This was the start of a remarkable success story. Its “sweet and savoury” tale today is appreciated more than ever by passionate coffee lovers.

 

1958

Rombouts launches its first One Cup Coffee Filter for the Brussels World Exhibition. This allowed coffee lovers to make a cup of coffee using the perfect amount of coffee that had been roasted and ground using traditional methods.

In 1964 Rombouts began marketing this concept which was a huge success in the horeca and retail sectors. Today, Rombouts owes its international reach to this first innovation, and to the quality of its coffees.

 

1966

Rombouts comes to the United Kingdom.

Following the success of the One Cup Filters in Belgium, the Rombouts family bought them to the UK along with their full offer of coffees, biscuits and ancillary items.

 

1968

Hugo Rombouts decided to approach Malongo coffees, which at the time was a small roaster in South-eastern France to expand the company.

This gamble was largely successful thanks to the hard work of the Malongo team, currently led by Jean Pierre Blanc. Today, Malongo's coffees are available and renowned for their quality not only in France, but also in numerous other countries.

 

1992

A meeting was held with Father van der Hoff, the founder of the UCIRI growers' cooperative in Mexico and co-founder of the Max Havelaar seal of approval.

Rombouts chose to champion the Fairtrade mark early on and continue to develop a full line of Fairtrade products.

 

1997

Rombouts launched its revolutionary 1,2,3 Spresso pod system which made it possible to easily prepare espresso.

In the coming years the Research and Development department would work with many coffee machine brands to refine a product line that covers all needs: from horeca to the home user, and office client.

 

2013

Rombouts renovates two coffee roasters; a 10kg and a 20kg to facilitate additional specialty coffee roasting for its customers.

 

2020

Rombouts launches its Home Compostable One Cup Filter coffees to replace the much-loved plastic one cup filters. These bring sustainability to the forefront of Rombouts coffee and make them fit for future generations.