Our heritage

Our story begins in the nineteenth century where family Van Leckwyck lived in Antwerp, close to the harbour that imported exotic goods from around the world. They traded in exotic spices, tea and green beans for coffee.

Pelican Rouge front roaster.jpg
Pelican Rouge front roaster.jpg

One of the first

Joseph van Leckwyck and his sons started roasting coffee. In those days, many people bought and roasted green beans themselves. Joseph was one of the first to understand that quality of coffee is maintained through a consistent roasting process. He took control of this process and sold high-quality roasted beans.

Roode Pelikaan

In bilingual Belgium during the 1800s, it was common practice for entrepreneurs to give their business the name of a colour and an animal for high resonance with the target audience. He went on to found Roode Pelikaan - Pelican Rouge in Antwerp, Belgium.

The best experience

Joseph began to specialise in the sourcing of coffee, the roasting process as well as the machinery required to maximise the flavour and create the best experience. He designed the logo that resonated with his target market during that time, and quickly expanded his operations through Belgium and shortly after the rest of Europe.

logo-old 3.jpg
logo-old 3.jpg
LOGO_ROODE_PELIKAAN.png
LOGO_ROODE_PELIKAAN.png
PR_BtoB_Coffee Roasters_CMYK-Red+black-01.png
PR_BtoB_Coffee Roasters_CMYK-Red+black-01.png
PR_BtoB_Coffee Roasters_CMYK-Red+white-01.png
PR_BtoB_Coffee Roasters_CMYK-Red+white-01.png

Crafts
manship

Thanks to centuries-old expertise passed down from Joseph van Leckwyck, we are true connoisseurs in every step of the journey from bean to barista: from sourcing to roasting, blending to serving.
And all of our craftspeople – blenders, roasters, baristas, purchasers, and research and development experts – apply this knowledge to every single gram of the 4 million kg of coffee we produce annually.
We know that flavour isn’t simply about the roast. Coffee is a product of nature. That’s why climate, soil, rainfall – and even altitude – all play a valuable role in the flavours in the cup.
It’s why our team of specialists travel to the farm plants to find the freshest, highest quality beans from coffee plants cultivated with care.

coffee-beans-mobile.png
coffee-beans-mobile.png