Friele

What Friele does

Friele is Norway's oldest coffee company, founded in 1799 by Herman Friele in Bergen. The company produces and distributes a range of coffee products including instant coffee, whole beans, ground coffee, and capsules/pods, serving Norwegian retail consumers and B2B food service customers. It operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of JDE Peet's (Jacobs Douwe Egberts), the global coffee and tea group, and benefits from the parent's sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics infrastructure while maintaining a localized Norwegian brand identity.

Friele's go-to-market is built around an exclusive distribution partnership with REMA 1000, one of Norway's largest grocery chains, supplemented by a direct-to-consumer e-commerce channel and the JDE Professional B2B food service network. The company has positioned sustainability as a core brand lever, having won the Sustainable Brand Index in the beverages category for four consecutive years. With an estimated 101-250 employees, Friele operates as a focused, single-market packaged coffee brand rather than a diversified multinational.

As a subsidiary brand within JDE Peet's broader portfolio, Friele's strategic direction is shaped within the parent's global framework. Visible strategic activity has centered on format expansion (capsules/pods), channel diversification (DTC e-commerce and B2B), and brand-building through sustainability credentials, rather than independent M&A, funding, or geographic expansion. The Norwegian coffee market is mature with high per-capita consumption, which limits volume growth potential but supports stable pricing and brand-led differentiation.

Name

Friele

Legal name

Jacobs Douwe Egberts Norge AS

Website

https://friele.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1799

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Friele is Norway's oldest coffee company, founded in 1799, producing instant, ground, whole bean, and capsule coffee for Norwegian retail consumers and B2B food service customers as a wholly-owned subsidiary of JDE Peet's.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Coffee Products

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Instant Coffee & Coffee Extract Manufacturing (AFAFADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Single-Serve Coffee (Pods, Capsules) (CRADAHAH), Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing (AFAFADAJ)

Keywords

• Roasted coffee beans
• Instant coffee products
• Coffee capsules pods
• Ground coffee products
• Norwegian coffee brand

Headquarters

HQ city

Bergen

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Consumer Coffee Products: Sale of coffee products including instant coffee, whole beans, ground coffee, and capsules/pods to retail consumers through grocery stores and supermarkets.
2. B2B Professional Coffee: Business customer coffee solutions through JDE Professional for professional/horeca customers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Friele cultivates, processes, and packages a range of coffee products including instant coffee (Friele Instant Gull), whole bean coffees (Bryggen, Lofoten, Christiania, Frokostkaffe, Slow Roast lines), ground coffee, and coffee capsules/pods. Products are sold primarily to Norwegian consumers through grocery retailers (including REMA 1000) and the company's e-commerce site, with B2B professional coffee solutions handled via the parent company's JDE Professional portal.

Product overview

Friele is a Norwegian coffee company founded in 1799 in Bergen, now part of the JDE (Jacobs Douwe Egberts) group. The company offers a portfolio of coffee products including instant coffee (Friele Instant Gull in glass and paper-based refill formats), whole bean coffees (Friele Bryggen, Friele Lofoten, Friele Christiania, Friele Frokostkaffe, and Friele Slow Roast lines), ground coffee, and capsules/pods. Friele's products are distributed through Norwegian retail channels including REMA 1000. The company has also introduced sustainable packaging innovations like paper-based refill pouches for their instant coffee products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Friele Bryggen Mellombrent A fresh medium-roast whole bean coffee with notes of plum and marzipan, caramel sweetness, and light acidity. Named in tribute to the first Friele store established near Bryggen in Bergen in 1799, targeting Norwegian consumers who brew whole bean coffee at home.
• Friele Christiania Espresso A full-bodied dark-roast whole bean espresso with distinct notes of roasted nuts and dark chocolate, fine acidity, and a round aftertaste. Named as a tribute to the city and era that shaped Norwegian coffee culture.
• Friele Lofoten Mellombrent A full-bodied medium-roast whole bean coffee honoring the 19th-century trade between Lofoten and Brazil where dried fish was exchanged for first-class coffee beans, marking the start of the trading adventure that shaped Norwegian coffee culture.
• Friele Frokostkaffe Original A whole bean breakfast coffee in the Original roast profile, part of Friele's breakfast-coffee line aimed at Norwegian households.
• Friele Frokostkaffe Mørkbrent A whole bean breakfast coffee in the Dark roast profile from Friele's breakfast-coffee line for Norwegian households.
• Friele Slow Roast Mellombrent A whole bean coffee from the Slow Roast line, medium-roasted for enhanced flavor development, aimed at Norwegian consumers who prefer slow-roasted profiles.
• Friele Slow Roast Mørkbrent/Espresso A whole bean coffee from the Slow Roast line, dark-roasted and suitable for espresso preparation, targeted at home espresso drinkers.
• Friele Instant Gull Glass Friele Instant Gull quality instant coffee in glass packaging, with a round and mild taste, providing a quick and flavorful cup for Norwegian consumers.
• Friele Instant Gull 200g Refill A medium-roast quality instant coffee in 200g refill packaging with a round and mild taste, for consumers wanting a quick flavorful cup of coffee.
• Friele Instant Gull Papirbasert Refillpose A quality instant coffee in a paper-based refill packaging (85% paper) with a thin plastic layer inside to preserve aroma and taste; the bag can be sorted as paper for recycling. Available exclusively at REMA 1000 stores in 200g, 150g, and 100g formats.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• JDE Peet's (Common Grounds Program)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriele participates in JDE Peet's Common Grounds program, which aims to positively impact people and the planet. Responsible sourcing is part of this program.
• REMA 1000coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorREMA 1000 is a key retail partner for Friele products. The Friele Instant Gull refill in paper-based packaging is exclusively available at REMA 1000 stores.
• Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE)coreOthersFriele is owned by Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) Norge AS. JDE operates Friele as one of its brands alongside L'OR, SENSEO, TASSIMO, Natreen, Illy, Espresso House, and Krone.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Solberg & Hansen: Solberg & Hansen is a Norwegian specialty coffee importer and roaster founded in 2001, focused on premium single-origin and craft coffee for Norwegian retail and horeca. It competes with Friele in the same Norwegian specialty/premium whole-bean segment and uses similar direct-to-consumer and grocery distribution.
• Nescafé (Nestlé): Nescafé is Nestlé's mass-market instant and roast-and-ground coffee brand and the global volume leader. It directly competes with Friele Instant Gull in the Norwegian instant segment and competes broadly across coffee aisles, making it Friele's principal mass-market competitor.
• Jacobs (JDE): Jacobs is a flagship roast-and-ground coffee brand owned by Friele's parent JDE. It competes with Friele in the Norwegian mass-market roast-and-ground segment and shares JDE distribution, presenting direct shelf competition with Friele within the same parent's portfolio.
• L'OR (JDE Peet's): L'OR is JDE Peet's premium capsule coffee brand and directly competes with Friele's capsule/pod products in Norwegian retail and horeca. As another JDE brand, it represents the most direct portfolio-level substitute for Friele's capsules.
• Kaffebrenneriet: Kaffebrenneriet is a Norwegian specialty coffee roaster and coffee bar chain serving Norwegian retail and foodservice. It competes with Friele in the premium/specialty whole-bean and ground-coffee segment and operates coffee shops that compete for horeca mindshare.
• Kjeldsberg: Kjeldsberg is a Norwegian coffee and tea brand with similar heritage positioning to Friele. It sells through Norwegian grocery and competes head-to-head with Friele in mass-market roast-and-ground and consumer coffee segments.
• TASSIMO (JDE Peet's): TASSIMO is JDE Peet's single-serve capsule brand and a sibling brand to Friele within the parent group. It competes with Friele's capsules/pods in Norwegian retail through shared JDE distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Lavazza: Lavazza is a leading Italian global coffee brand offering roast-and-ground, capsules, and professional B2B coffee solutions. It competes with Friele across the Norwegian horeca and consumer retail markets via established distribution networks.
• Illy (illycaffè): Illy is an Italian premium espresso and capsule brand, distributed in Norway by JDE alongside Friele. It serves as a premium benchmark in the same Norwegian retail and horeca channels where Friele competes.
• Nespresso (Nestlé): Nespresso is Nestlé's premium capsule coffee system, dominating the Norwegian single-serve premium segment where Friele also sells capsules. It competes for premium capsule occasions and horeca placements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user
• Facebookfacebook.com/FrieleKaffe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Friele