Tastes differ: Comparing company strategies, innovation trajectories and knowledge sources in Dutch soft drink production in the 1930s

Abstract

Impelled by a crisis in Dutch horticulture in the early 1930s, two Dutch food preserving companies, Hero and De Betuwe, decided to start producing non-alcoholic drinks made from fruits and vegetables. Different kinds of knowledge were needed for this radical innovation. Innovation trajectories were established and knowledge was incorporated, but the knowledge sources and ‘knowledge filters’ of the two companies were very different. Hero's Swiss parent played an important role in transferring Swiss knowledge of production techniques to its Dutch subsidiary company. De Betuwe, on the other hand, mainly relied on knowledge provided by the existing Dutch horticultural innovation network. While succeeding in the soft drink market was to a certain degree a competition between publicly available knowledge and private knowledge, in the end both companies succeeded in producing a comparable product, but their routes to success were different.

Keywords:

• innovation
• knowledge
• business strategy
• the Netherlands
• Switzerland
• food processing industry
• soft drinks
• inter-war period

Acknowledgement

This article is part of a research programme entitled ‘The Coevolution of the Dutch Knowledge Infrastructure and Innovations in Dutch Business in the Netherlands in the Twentieth Century’ (BINT). This paper benefited greatly from the suggestions made by the participants in this project, Mila Davids, Harry Lintsen, Arjan van Rooij, Sue-Yen Tjiong, and Frank Veraart. The research was financially supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

Notes

 1. National Archives The Hague (hereafter NA), Archives of the Direction of Agriculture, department of Horticulture, no. 14, A.M. Sprenger to I.G.J. Kakebeeke, Agricultural Inspector, February 5, 1930 (in Dutch: ‘gedwongen door de heerschende omstandigheden … de belangstelling voor het koelen … dag voor dag toe [neemt]’).

 2. Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (Brabants Historical Information Centre) (hereafter BHIC), Hero Company Archives. no. 6, Hero to the Conservenfabrik Lenzburg, January 13, 1932.

 3. Hero is an acronym of HEnckell and ROth.

 4. The other two were: Tieleman en Dros and N.V. v/h J. Hoogenstraaten en Co.'s conservenfabrieken, both in Leiden; BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 6, Hero Breda to the Conservenfabrik Lenzburg, July 14, 1931.

 5. BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 35, Annual Reports Hero, 1920–1955.

 6. BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 6, Hero Breda to the Conservenfabrik Lenzburg, July 14, August 1, 1931.

 7. Municipality Archives of The Hague, N.V. Nieuw Honsel Archive, no. 1. Minutes of the shareholders' meeting N.V. Nieuw Honsel, May 11, 1932.

 8. NA, Archives of the Direction of Agriculture, department of Horticulture, no. 14, The Westland Association to D.S. Huizinga, Inspector Agricultural Education and chief Agricultural Information Service, June 28, 1932.

 9. BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 189, ‘Memorandum entitled “Hero-Breda” (no date)’.

10. NA, Archives of the Direction of Agriculture, department of Horticulture, no. 1, [A.M. Sprenger], ‘Report of the work done on wine- and juice production in 1933, Wageningen 16 February 1934’.

11. Ibid.

12. BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 6, Hero to Conservenfabrik Lenzburg, January 13, 1932.

13. [Sprenger], ‘Report of the work done on wine- and juice production in 1933’; [L.B.], ‘Wijn- en sapbereiding uit in Nederland geteelde vruchten’ [Wine and juice making out of Dutch grown fruits]. Weekblad voor de handel in gedistilleerd, no. 30 (1932).

14. [Sprenger], ‘Report of the work done on wine- and juice production in 1933’.

15. BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 161, Hero Breda to Coservenfabrik Lenzburg, May 7, 1932.

16. BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 6, Hero to Conservenfabrik Lenzburg, August 1, 1931.

17. Ibid., Hero to Conservenfabrik Lenzburg, July 18, 1931.

18. BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 189, G. Henckell to R. Jansen, February 1, 1932.

19. Ibid., G. Henckell to R. Jansen, February 13, 1932.

20. They mentioned that a production method that was described in Der Konservierzeitung of January 21 (the article was entitled ‘Traubenverwertung zu Süssmost’) resembled Schlör's method.

21. BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 189, R. Jansen to G. Henckell, February 11, 1932.

22. Ibid., Note from Hero intended for Lenzburg, entitled ‘Exposé Apfelperl’, undated [February 1932].

23. Ibid., Schlör to Hero, February 17, 1932.

24. Ibid., (Draft) contract between Schlör en Hero, undated [March 1932].

25. Ibid., Rapport über die Besprechung mit Dr. Widmer Vorstand der chem. Abteilung an der Schweizerischen Versuchsanstalt für Obst- und Weinbau in Wädenswil, November 30, 1932 (Written and signed by G. Meyer).

26. BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 151, G. Henckell to R. Jansen, July 18, 1932.

27. Ibid., Hero to Conservenfabrik Lenzburg, November 21, 1932.

28. Regional Archive Tiel, De Betuwe Company Archives, no. 85, Minutes of the shareholders meeting, April 8, 1933.

29. [Sprenger], ‘Report of the work done on wine- and juice production in 1933’.

30. BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 189, Typescript by G. Meyer of his phone call with J. Schlör, November 28, 1932.

31. For example, American scientific papers such as Carpenter, Pederson, & Walsh, 1932. Meyer's conclusion though was that the Americans lagged behind their Swiss colleagues in this matter. See also BHIC, Hero Company Archives, no. 189, A note from G. Henckel to Hero, January 4, 1933.

32. BHIC, Hero company archives, no. 189, Rapport über die Besprechung mit Dr. Widmer. November 30, 1932.

33. Ibid., Prof. Dr. K. Krömer, director of the Planzenphysiologische Versuchsstation in Geisenheim am Rhein, to J. Schlör in Menziken, March 20, 1933.

34. Ibid., Dr. A. Mehlitz to J. Schlör, March 27, 1933 (copy).

35. Meyer provided Hero Breda with an extract regarding this method from Nessler, 1930.

36. BHIC, Hero company archives, no. 189, G. Meyer to Hero Breda, d.d. April 3, 1933.

37. BHIC, Hero company archives, no. 31, Minutes of the Board of Directors meeting of Hero Breda, February 23, 1933.

38. Ibid., September 19, 1933.

39. Ibid., March 12, 1934.

40. BHIC, Hero company archives, 150, F. Gouverne to R. Jansen, June 21, 1938 and R. Jansen to F. Gouverne, d.d. June 22, 1938.