Danone is heightening its focus on serving many of the world's poorest consumers living in Africa, Asia and South America. With sales momentum slowing in Western Europe and North America, Danone is just one of a growing list of multinationals that are now targeting shoppers on considerably more limited incomes across the globe.

Among the company's primary low-cost brands are sachets of Dolima drinkable yoghurt and individual cups of mineral water. Last year, 42% of Danone's sales were drawn from emerging markets, up from 6% only ten years ago. Danone is now aiming to reach one billion customers in these areas a month by 2013, compared with some 700 million today.

"The objective is to do business, not just with the top of the pyramid," Franck Riboud, Danone's chief executive, argued.

source WSJ