History of Remia
In 1925, Remia’s founder, Arie de Rooij, started mixing margarines in his shed at his home in Amersfoort. Later on, a mixing facility was added, blending margarine with butter. De Rooij’s Electrical Mixing Installation Amersfoort, Remia for short, was born.
Remia’s margarine was a success and the company steadily grew. The plant then moved to Den Dolder, and in 1960, Remia expanded its activities with the production of sauces in a modern sauce factory. Around that time, the first steps were taken abroad.
At the end of the 1960s, Remia’s range of products had grown into an entire assortment of different products such as margarine, frying fat, French fries sauce, and salad sauce. In the 1980s, the supermarkets started expanding the sauces shelf to include products with different tastes. Remia’s assortment was expanded with new types of sauces, such as tomato ketchup, garlic sauce and chilli sauce. Increased sales required a larger plant, and the sauce factory tripled in surface in 1997.
Innovation
Remia is famous for a wide range of sauces, dressings and margarines, and for having a continuous drive for innovation with various products. Remia was the first producer of liquid frying fat and developed very successful low-calorie mayonnaises with a great taste. New Remia product introductions have strong marketing support, both in the Netherlands and abroad. But Remia also differentiates itself in terms of packaging, continuously seeking logistical improvements and ease for the final user, and always keeping design in mind.
Expansion of Remia C.V.
The success of the family business was rewarded with the opening of a new 5,000 m2 factory building in 2010. At the same time, Remia reinforced its market position in sauces in the Netherlands by taking over two companies. As of 30 April 2010, Remia took over De Marne’s Fabrieken BV in Groningen. For Remia, the purchase of De Marne meant an expansion of its portfolio of leading brands and De Marne’s purchase seamlessly integrated with Remia’s existing sauce-making activities and ambitions.
De Marne (created in 1895) is the market leader for mustard in the Netherlands, with more than 50% retail market share. The purveyor to the Royal Household exports mustard to Germany and France, among others, and has a strong foothold in the Dutch market.
As of 3 August 2011, Remia took over the sauce business of Van Dijk in Lopik. For Remia, the take-over of the sauce-making activities of Van Dijk was a logical step. Van Dijk Lopik has an important position in the Dutch sauce market both in the branded segment (as Gouda’s Glorie and MadSauce, among others) and the non-branded segment. Van Dijk’s sauce production was fully transferred to Den Dolder in 2013.
Ninety years after Remia’s inception, the company has grown into one of the most important and innovative sauce and margarine manufacturers in the Netherlands. By continuously addressing changing consumer demands with innovative product introductions, Remia has always been able to achieve growth in the market. As of today, more than 400 employees work daily on producing a wide range of sauces, dressings, frying fats and margarines in Den Dolder.
