The Evolution of TB Brown: A Conversation w/Henry Van Zutphen

TB Brown has a long and proud history in the coffee industry. Could you take us back to the beginning and share the story of how the company was founded and how it has evolved over the years?

TB Brown was founded in 2004 by Nils Rijneveld and Eric Bezemer, who both brought many years of experience in sourcing and blending green coffee, as well as roasting, packing and selling coffee across North-West Europe.

The idea started around a kitchen table in Berlicum, with a simple ambition: to take the concept of creating tailored coffee blends and apply it to instant coffee.

In the early years, TB Brown focused mainly on the out-of-home and vending market. When I joined as CEO and shareholder in 2013, we continued to broaden the business, developing our industrial activities alongside our existing out-of-home and retail business.

In 2020, we strengthened our position in liquid coffee through the acquisition of Ederna, and in 2022, Sucafina acquired a majority stake in TB Brown, bringing together our instant coffee expertise and flexible approach with Sucafina’s global network, sourcing capabilities and scale. 

Looking back at TB Brown’s journey, what do you see as the key milestones that have shaped the company into what it is today?

One of the biggest milestones has been the diversification of the business. We have expanded into different sales channels and product types while staying strongly focused on private label. Today, we serve customers in more than 20 countries.

Innovation has also played an important role. In 2014, we were the first to introduce PET jars for retail products, followed in 2016 by industrial blended products in 10 kg and 20 kg bags. Our expansion continued with a sales office in Germany and packing activities in Hungary.

That international character is also reflected in our team. Today, our roughly 50 people represent around 12 nationalities, which helps us better understand the markets and cultures we work with every day.

Throughout its history, TB Brown has successfully adapted to changing markets and customer needs. What do you think has been the company’s greatest strength in remaining relevant over the years?

I think our greatest strength is staying very close to our customers and taking the time to understand their business and what they need.

At the same time, we have always been passionate about instant coffee and strongly believe in its potential. Our coffee knowledge and expertise allow us to keep developing, whether that means new products, different packaging formats or better ways to serve our customers.

There is also a strong entrepreneurial mindset within TB Brown. We may not always be 100% ready for the next step, but that has never stopped us from moving forward, learning along the way and making it happen.

The coffee industry is constantly evolving. What do you believe continues to set TB Brown apart in such a competitive market?

I think what sets TB Brown apart is our ability to move quickly and adapt. We follow market trends and innovations and translate those developments into solutions that make sense for our customers.

Flexibility is a big part of how we work. From sourcing and blending to packaging, we create tailored solutions rather than focusing on high volumes of standardized products. We can work with relatively low MOQs while still offering customers their own distinct coffee profiles.

We also want to bring more than a product. We share our coffee knowledge through workshops, cupping sessions and portfolio analyses. We like to do things differently, and that mindset has always been a big part of TB Brown.

Why did TB Brown decide to become part of Sucafina? What has the integration enabled for the business and its customers?

A very nice question. TB Brown has always been ambitious and internationally oriented and very committed to its core values – we've always tried to be like a family, where everybody's contribution matters and is recognized. To grow and create long-term continuity and opportunities for our people, we realized we needed a strategic partner; staying on our own would come with too many limitations. That was true for TB Brown, and it was true for me personally too. I was ready to enlarge and enrich my environment, to step up to the next level of entrepreneurship and get extra energy in a new and exciting phase.

The partner we were looking for had to share our values, our passion for the product, and our ambition to be a worldwide player for all instant coffee users. It's no surprise we reached out to Sucafina as our number one partner of choice. During talks with Nicolas A. Tamari, Sucafina's CEO, and Joseph Massoud, Managing Director of Sucafina Instant, I found we connected not just on business perspectives and goals but also on a personal level. That convinced me, without any doubt, that working within Sucafina was the right choice. And it truly is.

Becoming part of Sucafina Instant has given TB Brown a stronger foundation to grow – greater buying power and access to a much wider range of coffees, which expands what we can offer customers and helps us operate more efficiently. In return, we contribute our expertise in serving customers with specific needs, such as A-brands and retailers, in a mature market with strict regulations. Our private-label production mindset and our focus on relationship-based transactions – customer satisfaction, delivery performance, diversification – feed long-lasting, recurring business. And our technical team, R&D, and quality assurance are now fully integrated as the center of expertise for Sucafina Instant, so our international colleagues can spot opportunities that we then produce in Europe. We act as the producing partner for sales through other Sucafina Instant companies, with real success, and we all now have a much broader view of the global instant coffee market.

This has opened new doors across the group too. We're working more closely with Beyers in European retail and with Sucafina Green for larger coffee roasters. By combining TB Brown's knowledge with Sucafina UK's experience in coffee concentrates, we're establishing Sucafina Instant as the leading supplier of coffee concentrate for the private label market, in both bulk and consumer packaging. The new packing plant in Vietnam, expected to be operational in Q1 2027, will give us more competitive packing capabilities in Asia, and our R&D teams at TB Brown and Sucafina Vietnam are working more closely together on coffee profiling and product development.

For our customers, this means greater scale and a broader range of solutions, while keeping the flexibility and personal service they know from TB Brown. As we like to say, sometimes 1 + 1 + 1 can equal 5. By joining forces with colleagues across all regions, we're a top-level instant coffee supplier with a global mindset and a local, personalized approach – combining talents, solutions from bulk to blended and finished goods, and a strong partner network into something genuinely unique in the world. We're learning from each other's trading experience and market knowledge, sharing leads, buying jointly, and becoming more risk-aware together. Staying open to learning and adapting makes all our businesses stronger.

The coffee industry continues to evolve at pace. Which trends do you believe will have the greatest impact on businesses like TB Brown in the years ahead?

Digitalization will certainly have a major impact. AI and new technologies are creating more transparency across the coffee supply chain and changing how we access information, make decisions and work with our customers.

The way people consume coffee is changing too. Younger generations are exploring a wider variety of products and occasions, and we are seeing growing interest in coffee as an ingredient rather than only as a traditional drink.

For a business like TB Brown, this means we need to stay very adaptive. We may explore ten different routes knowing that only one or two will make it to market. Being able to test, learn and change direction quickly will become even more important.

Legislation and compliance will also have a growing influence, with developments such as EUDR and PPWR* alongside increasingly specific customer requirements. The challenge will be finding the right balance between staying creative and responsive while working within an increasingly complex environment.
_{* PPWR: Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, the EU regulation aimed at reducing packaging waste and improving the sustainability and recyclability of packaging.}

As a leader, what’s one lesson you’ve learned during your journey with TB Brown that continues to influence the way you lead today?

One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that, in the end, this is a people’s business. Trust, integrity and making a genuine effort with people matter enormously.

Leadership is very much about teamwork. Your role is to give direction, coach people and give them the confidence and support to do their best. You do not need to have all the answers, and you should never pretend that you do.

For me, the best measure of good leadership is seeing the people around you grow. Watching someone develop, take on more responsibility and become more confident is probably the greatest compliment you can receive as a leader.

If you could describe TB Brown in one sentence, what would they be, and why?

A flexible and dedicated instant coffee partner that customers enjoy doing business with and people enjoy being part of.

Finally, if we were having this conversation again in 10 years’ time, what would you hope we’d be saying about TB Brown?

In 10 years, I would like us to say that TB Brown, as part of Sucafina Instant, has continued to be a long-term partner of choice for our customers, known for innovation and a strong customer experience.

By combining our knowledge, experience and ideas across Sucafina, I believe we can play an important role in changing the instant coffee landscape.

For me, that would be a great measure of success: continuing to grow together, staying close to our customers and helping shape the future of instant coffee.