De Kuyper founded the company in 1695, initially producing tanks and barrels for transporting spirits and beer. In 1752, the family business expanded with the acquisition of a distillery in Schiedam, then the center of gin production in the Netherlands. The family focused on gin production. Some time later, they purchased a second distillery in Rotterdam. After this expansion, De Kuyper became the largest gin producers in Schiedam. However, the family business had bigger ambitions than just serving their own people; by the 19th century, the company was present in other parts of Europe as well as across the Atlantic. America quickly became the company’s main market, as Dutch gin (also known as jenever) was very well received. When Prohibition came into effect in the United States in 1920, De Kuyper tried to sell non-alcoholic gin there. This attempt was unsuccessful, and the only option left was to smuggle the real drink into the country. However, they needed to find another official line of business. Thus, in the 1920s, the company entered the cocktail liqueur market. Initially, they created around twenty liqueurs, such as Apricot Brandy, Cherry Brandy, Triple Sec, Crème de Menthe. After Prohibition was repealed, De Kuyper developed cocktail liqueurs that matched America's true vision, and in the following decades, the success of cocktails allowed liqueurs to begin surpassing gin. A smart marketing strategy also played a role; for example, De Kuyper organized the world’s first cocktail-making competition to promote their products.

To celebrate the company’s 300th anniversary, in 1995, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands granted De Kuyper the royal title. Since then, the company’s official name has been De Kuyper Royal Distillers. It still operates as a family business.