DDW, The Color House (D.D. Williamson) was a global, privately held corporation providing caramel color, burnt sugar and natural colorings for the food and beverage industry, before being acquired in 2021 by Givaudan.[1] In 1865, Dutch immigrant Douw Ditmars Williamson founded D.D. Williamson in New York to manufacture burnt sugars for the brewing industry.[2] The caramel industry moved into coloring cola and many other foods following Prohibition and the Great Depression.[3]
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, DDW had nine manufacturing sites for naturally derived coloring on five continents with customers in 100 countries.[4] DDW's first international manufacturing facility was founded in Little Island, Cork.[5]