Founder Series
Melitta Bentz, Inventor of Coffee Filter
Bentz invented something, which made her the global coffee market queen today. Let’s read how her love for coffee, led to a Multimillion Enterprise.
On January 31, 1873, in Dresden, Germany, Amalie Auguste Melitta Liebscher was born into a German family to Karl and Brigitte Liebscher.
In 1806, Napoleon established the Kingdom of Saxony, with Dresden as its capital. During the Napoleonic Wars, the French Emperor utilized it as a base of operations, winning the Battle of Dresden on August 27, 1813.
“Nothing irritates me more than a mouthful of grounds or “grinds” in my morning coffee, especially if I’m not a morning person. Consider a time when there were no paper filters available.” — Melitta Bentz
Melitta Bentz, a housewife in Dresden, Germany at the turn of the century, went to great lengths to ensure her cup of coffee was free of grounds. Her name has now been splattered on a whole food conglomerate. It’s not often that a housewife establishes the groundwork for a corporate empire, but Melitta did just that.
The first coffee filters were produced at home. Bentz’s husband set up a demonstration in shop windows to show the public how to utilise the new system, while her boys delivered with a handcart. Later, her husband delegated this responsibility to “demonstration ladies,” a concept he conceived while working as a department store manager.
The concept and company took off in 1909, when Melitta and Hugo displayed their product at the Leipzig Trade Fair, which brought housewares store owners from all over Germany.
Horst Bentz recalls, “The result was resounding.” Pour-over coffee machines made of porcelain and paper filters were gaining popularity. That year, Bentz sold 1,250 pieces for 1.25 marks each. In 1912, the company had grown to eight employees.
The path ahead was not without its bumps, but she never gave up and went on to build the Melitta Group, which today has a more than 100-year legacy in the worldwide coffee market.
The Birth of a Global Brand
Melitta logo was created by the company in 1932, which is another distinguishing element. Melitta’s classic logo was also used.
The filter sheets themselves were created and enhanced on a regular basis. The company invented the conical filter in 1936, which is still extensively used today, and Melitta filter bags were designed to match the new shape.
In the 1930s, Melitta also offered a children’s coffee filter that was an exact replica of the metal circular filter.
However, this success did not endure long. Businesses were disrupted by the second-world way of doing things. To survive, they were forced to sell war-related goods, and Melitta was no exception.
Melitta presented its filters to the general public at trade exhibits in the 1960s, offering over two million cups of coffee.
Her Expansion: Because there’s never limit over how big you can go!
The company expanded its reach, initially into Western Europe, in addition to extending its product portfolio. In 1960, Melitta established their first foreign subsidiary in Canada. In the United States and Brazil, paper factories and coffee roasting facilities were established.
In 1962, Melitta was the first German company to offer ground coffee in vacuum-sealed packaging. In Minden, it employs approximately 3,500 people and has an electronically controlled roasting plant.
Additional filters of various diameters were produced later in the decade, allowing consumers to brew a precise number of cups by filling the filter to the rim. Melitta was one of the first companies to introduce filters made of heat-resistant polymers after they were invented.
Melitta Aromatechnic became Melitta Systemtechnik in 1987, after purchasing a majority position in Cafina AG in Switzerland. Five key business domains were developed in the same year, each with its own brand:
- Melitta (Coffee Enjoyment)
- Toppits (Freshness & Flavor
- Swirl (Convenient Cleaning)
- Cilia (Tea Enjoyment)
- Aclimat (BetterLiving Environment)
Her Legacy Today!
It’s been more than 100 years to the legacy of Melitta.
M.Bentz’s company was worth DM 4.7 million at the time of her death. In 2020, the company achieved 1.7 billion euros in sales with approximately 4,500 people throughout the world.
The Melitta Group, as it is now known, is a global conglomerate with a diverse range of brands and goods. Thousands of people work for it in Germany, Florida, and New Jersey.
Here is the list of a few of their principal subsidiaries (Worldwide):
- Melitta Bentz KG
- Melitta Haushaltsprodukte GmbH & Co. KG
- Melitta Kaffee GmbH
- Melitta Ges.mbH (Austria)
- Melitta GmbH (Switzerland)
- Melitta France S.A.S.; Melitta N.V. (Belgium)
- Melitta Nederland (Netherlands)
- Melitta Scandinavia A/S (Denmark)
- Melitta Scandinavia AB (Sweden); Delphy Industries S.A.S. (France)
- Codiac France S.A.S. (France, 49%)
- Vriesco Plastics B.V. (Netherlands)
- Primafilter B.V. (Netherlands)
- West-Clean AB (Sweden)
- Gameo AB (Sweden)
- Coffee Club Franchise B.V. (Netherlands, 75%)
- Melitta Emballages Ménagers Distribution S.A.S. (France)
- Melitta Russland AG (Russia); Melitta Chicago Review s.r.o. (Czech Republic)
- Melitta do Brasil Industria e Commercio Ltda. (Brazil)
- Melitta North America Inc. (United States)
- Melitta SystemService GmbH & Co. KG
- Cofresco Frischhalteprodukte GmbH & Co. KG (65%)
- Melitta Beratungs- und Verwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG
- Melitta Pacific Ltd. (China).
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