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 fr...
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French dairy group Danone announced that it will merge its Russian fresh dairy business with local firm Unimilk.The deal will generate a business with annual sales of EUR1.5bn and covering Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus. Danone will hold 57.5% of the new joint venture, and it has an option to buy out Unimilk in 2022.The deal is subject to gaining regulatory approval in the countries concerned and is expected to close towards the end of the year.

According to Euromonitor reports, the R...
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French dairy group Danone is to buy protein supplement maker Medical Nutrition USA, or MNI, for US$62m.

Danone said MNI will become part of its North American medical nutrition business Nutricia North America, which is based in Maryland.Danone's Nutricia North America arm generated $70m in sales in 2009. MNI's revenues in the fiscal year to the end of January stood at $16m.

source: just-food.com

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Dairy group Danone is at the top of the list for category dominance in the European food sector, followed by Unilever and Nestle, according to a new report by Sanford C. Bernstein Research Company of USA. The researcher identifies a sustainable top line growth based on categories, markets, category dominance and execution. Holding the top position in a category is considered a major business advantage, not only because of higher sales volumes but also because it allows for improved negotiatio...
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French food group Danone waits a European ruling on the health benefit claims it makes on two of its best-selling yoghurts Activia and Actimel. The decision expected from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is important for Danone mainly because its strategy focuses on differentiating dairy brands with a "good for you" proposition. If a negative decision appears, this could ultimately force Danone to redesign its  growth model in dairy business, which made up almost 60 percent of the gr...
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If rumors are correct yes!

Shares of Dean Foods Co, the largest U.S. milk producer, jumped as much as 8.3 percent, fueled by talk that France's Danone could acquire the company. "There is a rumor circulating that Groupe Danone is interested in acquiring Dean Foods. That possibility has spurred call option buying today in the stock," said Jud Pyle, chief investment strategist at Options News Network, a division of option market making firm PEAK6 Investments.

A spokesman for Danone declined to co...
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Danone has launched a flavoured milk under Choco Plus brand in India, which is the first dairy launch of Danone in the country. The 200ml product is priced at INR16 (US$0.13) and is being produced in a dairy product plant based in Pune, near Bombay.

Danone has also announced plans to double the production of dairy products at its new plant in Thailand in order to push into other south-east Asian markets as early as next year.Danone realizes 40% of its sales in emerging markets. 

In April, Danon...

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Danone announced an increase in full-year profits. The company declared that  Danone sees 2010 financial and economic environment as  “challenging” .The announced net income reached EUR1.14bn (US$1.57bn), which corresponds to a 7.5% increase vs. 2008. But like many other companies in food industry, Danone also has  declared a sales decline of 1.6% down to EUR14.98bn. However when the impact of currency exchange excluded, total sales increased by 3.2% on a like-for-like basis. This was dri...
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A German court battle has put the relationship between marketer and media agency on trial as French dairy giant Danone Groupe accuses Aegis Media of failing to pass on the full benefit of discounts gained from bulk media purchases more than five years ago.

In an attempt to resolve the dispute, the Higher Regional Court in Munich has ruled verbally that Aegis Media's Carat operation in Germany must open up its books. Aegis, unwilling to reveal sensitive market information, is awaiting the wr...

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The judgment handed down by a Swedish arbitration tribunal on September 30 was a victory for Danone over Zong Qinghou, the French food group’s  JV partner since 1996 and founder of beverage-maker Wahaha Group. A three-member tribunal convened by the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce’s Arbitration Institute ruled that Mr. Zong had breached confidentiality and non-competition agreements.

The tribunal also ordered that Mr Zong should stop using the Wahaha Trademarks and any other intellectual ...

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Todd Stitzer, chief executive of Cadbury, will this week face pressure from shareholders to prove that Britain's favourite chocolate manufacturer can deliver strong growth as an independent company, as a renewed takeover bid from US food giant Kraft looms.

Danone said it was prepared to spend a total of GBP 915m on acquisitions as the world’s largest yoghurt maker reported better than expected third-quarter sales and confirmed full-year guidance.

Nestle, said it is even "leaner, fitter and ...

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