About us

Verstegen Spices Trade and Factory of Preservatives was founded in 1886 by Mr. Verstegen in Rotterdam. Mr. Verstegen died in 1897. After his death, the company continued under the management of the two proxy holders: Messrs C. Diederik and J. Man in 't Veld. Under their leadership, the company was engaged in the trade in spices, dried fruits and bakery ingredients.

Around 1914, Mr. Diederik's eldest daughter became engaged to Mr. FP Kersteman, who sold his painting business and joined his father-in-law, Mr. Diederik. When the notorious anti-trust law was introduced in 1915, Verstegen Spices

Trade and Factory of preservatives were split into three parts:

• Firm C. Diederik and Zn Bakery Ingredients under the leadership of Mr. Diederik;
• Company JH Verstegen led by Mr. Man in 't Veld;
• Firm Verstegen Spice Trade and Factory of Preservatives, led by Mr Kersteman, who married Mr Diederik's daughter in 1918.

Verstegen laid the foundations for butchery and sausage making.

The company prospered especially after the end of the 1st World War. Despite the crisis years in 1932 and 1933, the company managed to keep its head above water. By delivering quality, service and reliability, Verstegen gained a large and solid core of customers who guaranteed the steady growth of the company.

In 1939 Mr. BJ Driessen (the father of Jan Driessen) came into service as a representative and married Mr. Kersteman's daughter. A few years later, the BJ Driessen took over the company. This brought the first generation of Driessens at the helm.

On 14 May 1940, jet-black clouds of smoke hung over Rotterdam and the company on Hugo de Grootstraat 104 was completely destroyed, with the exception of the safe with Verstegen recipes. A few hours before the big bombing on Rotterdam, Mr Kersteman managed to secure the recipes from this safe.

A year after the liberation on 5 May 1945, some raw materials slowly came in and a hesitant start was made from a garage in the Hillegersberg district. Only six years after the end of WW II did we have another business space on Hoornbrekerstraat and quality raw materials in stock.

Our international growth started in 1949, just across the border in Belgium and in 1962 we also started exploring the terrain of catering and industrial kitchens.

After about twelve years, the building on Hoornbrekerstraat also became too small. On December 30, 1964, the beautiful new business premises at Giessenweg 62 were taken into use, where production is still taking place.

On November 30, 1979 Mr. BJ Driessen said goodbye as director and owner of Verstegen and also announced that his son Jan Driessen would take over.

In 2009, Michel Driessen, son of Jan Driessen, became the owner of the company and the third generation of Driessens came to the helm.

With more than 130 years of experience a lot has changed over the years, but to this day we are known for our high quality, craftsmanship and reliability.

We are active in more than 30 countries around the world, from the supermarket to the industry. With a large variation from the purest herbs and spices to the tastiest mixes, sauces and marinades.