Pelican Rouge

What Pelican Rouge does

Pelican Rouge is a premium coffee brand with heritage dating to 1863 in Belgium, now headquartered in Dordrecht, Netherlands, and operated as a brand within Selecta Group. The company sources, roasts, blends, and distributes coffee beans and professional capsules, with machine-calibration expertise supplied through its in-house coffee professionals. Its core technology is traditional coffee roasting and blending craft accumulated over 160 years, supplemented by a recyclable packaging system and machine tuning calibrated per blend. The portfolio carries Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade certifications and is targeted to be 100% climate compensated by 2025 via the Selecta Coffee Fund.

Pelican Rouge serves business and corporate clients (offices, commercial establishments) and public-sector organizations (government, healthcare facilities) across Europe. It sells whole bean, ground coffee, and professional capsules, and has won a Great Taste Award from the Guild of Fine Food for flavor quality. The brand is positioned in the premium tier with sustainability credentials as a key procurement criterion, particularly for ESG-conscious enterprise and public-sector buyers.

The business model is B2B distribution through Selecta Group's pan-European vending machine network, which covers 16+ countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and the Nordics. Pelican Rouge has no independent sales channel; all customer relationships and pricing inquiries are routed through Selecta. Revenue is generated through sale of coffee products (beans, blends, professional capsules) consumed via Selecta's installed vending machines and office coffee equipment at end-customer sites. The brand operates as one of five coffee brands in Selecta's portfolio, alongside Starbucks, Segafredo, Miofino, and Fineleaf.

Name

Pelican Rouge

Legal name

Selecta Group

Website

https://pelicanrouge.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1863

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Pelican Rouge is a 1863-founded premium Belgian coffee brand, now a Selecta Group subsidiary, that roasts, blends, and distributes certified sustainable coffee beans and professional capsules across 16+ European countries via Selecta's vending machine network, serving B2B offices and public-sector accounts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Office Coffee Solutions

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee (Roasted, Ground, Whole Bean) (CRADAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Single-Serve Coffee (Pods, Capsules) (CRADAHAH), Coffee Blending & Flavoring (AFAFADAC)

Keywords

• Office coffee solutions
• Professional coffee capsules
• Sustainable coffee sourcing
• Belgian coffee roasting
• Vending machine coffee

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Coffee Products: Sale of premium roasted coffee beans, blends, and professional capsules to businesses through Selecta's vending machine network and direct B2B relationships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Pelican Rouge sources, roasts, and blends premium coffee beans from around the world, supplying roasted coffee and professional capsules for office and commercial vending machines. The brand offers carefully composed blends tailored to local taste preferences, with machine settings precisely calibrated by professionals, and certified sustainable coffee packaged in recyclable materials with a target of 100% climate compensation by 2025. Distribution is conducted exclusively through Selecta Group's pan-European vending and office coffee service network across 16+ countries.

Product overview

Pelican Rouge is a premium coffee brand under Selecta Nederland offering a comprehensive portfolio of coffee products and solutions. The brand traces its roots to 19th-century Belgium and specializes in sourcing, roasting, blending, and exporting quality coffee beans from around the world. Its product lineup includes Professional Capsules for vending and office coffee machines. Pelican Rouge positions itself as both a traditional coffee heritage brand (since 1863) and an innovative sustainability-focused provider, offering certified sustainable coffee with recyclable packaging.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pelican Rouge: A premium Belgian coffee brand dating back to 1863, specializing in sustainably sourced, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade certified coffee beans, roasts, blends, and professional capsules.

Products and services

• Professional Capsules

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% climate compensated coffee targeted by 2025 through Selecta Coffee Fund

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Rainforest AlliancecoreOthersRainforest Alliance certification ensures coffee is sourced from farms meeting rigorous environmental, social, and economic standards. This partnership verifies sustainable farming practices and biodiversity protection in Pelican Rouge's supply chain.
• FairtradecoreOthersFairtrade certification ensures fair prices and decent working conditions for coffee farmers and workers in the supply chain. This partnership provides ethical sourcing verification for Pelican Rouge coffee products.
• Selecta GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSelecta Group is the parent company and exclusive distributor of Pelican Rouge coffee products through its European vending machine network spanning 16+ countries. Selecta provides the infrastructure, service, and customer relationships for Pelican Rouge's B2B coffee distribution.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• JDE Peet's (Jacobs Douwe Egberts): World's largest pure-play coffee & tea group, with leading European brands including Jacobs, Douwe Egberts, L'OR, and Senseo. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing across retail, capsules, and OOH channels in the same European geographies.
• Keurig Dr Pepper: Owner of the Keurig brewing platform and major North American coffee/tea brands. Comparable as a broad incumbent in capsule/pod-based B2B coffee systems and OOH brewing, though primarily North American footprint.
• Lavazza: One of Italy's largest coffee roasters with deep presence in foodservice, OOH, and at-home segments across Europe. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for the same workplace and HoReCa coffee contracts Pelican Rouge targets.
• Nestlé Nespresso: Global leader in single-serve capsule coffee with a Professional (B2B) division serving offices, hotels, and restaurants. Comparable on capsule format, sustainability messaging (AAA Sustainable Quality Program), and premium office coffee positioning.
• Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group: Global coffee group owning brands such as Segafredo Zanetti, Boncafé, and others, serving retail and foodservice. Comparable as a multi-brand coffee operator with European B2B/OOH distribution similar to Pelican Rouge's model.

Others

• Selecta Group: Pelican Rouge's parent company and exclusive distribution channel; the pan-European vending and office coffee services operator that owns multiple coffee brands. Included as a channel/infrastructure peer because Pelican Rouge's commercial fate is inseparable from Selecta's network economics and strategy.

Direct peers

• illycaffè: Premium Italian coffee brand built around espresso blends, ESE pods, and a strong B2B presence in offices, hotels, and restaurants. Comparable on premium positioning, blend-led differentiation, and capsule/pod format.
• Autobar Group: European vending, coffee services, and OOH operator historically active across multiple countries. Comparable as a direct competitor in the European workplace and public vending coffee services market Pelican Rouge operates in.
• Segafredo Zanetti: Italian espresso brand with a global B2B and OOH coffee presence, also distributed through Selecta vending machines in Europe. Direct comparable on product (roasted coffee, capsules), customer base (workplaces, HoReCa), and route-to-market (Selecta network).

Regional players

• Starbucks Coffee Company: Global coffee brand licensed through Selecta in Europe for the OOH channel. Comparable on premium positioning and coffee quality, but is both a parent-portfolio sibling (inside Selecta) and a competitive threat inside the same machines Pelican Rouge sits in.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/selecta
• YouTubeyoutube.com/selecta
• Facebookfacebook.com/selecta
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pelican-rouge-nl
• Instagraminstagram.com/selecta

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Pelican Rouge