M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
Danone - statistics & facts
A brand that mainly grew through serving a wide range of health-focused categories and not staying limited to dairy products, Danone is now one of the most valuable food and beverage brands in the world. The acquisition of WhiteWave in 2017 added many popular plant-based brands like Alpro and Silk to its portfolio. In 2023, these two brands became Danone’s leading sellers and were ranked as the most recognized milk alternative brands in big markets like the United States and Germany.
The movement towards healthy and zero sugar beverages has led Danone’s plain water, flavored water and functional beverages to become the fastest growing division of the company in recent years. A broad product portfolio enables the company to compete with food and beverage powerhouses such as Nestlé and Unilever. While the United States is the company’s clear profit center for Danone, France and China ranked next highest in generated sales.
Danone's large product portfolio
The French based multinational food and beverage company was ranked as one the largest dairy corporation worldwide. In its latest annual report, the company recorded net sales amounting to over 27 billion euros. Danone operates fast-growing categories across three divisions: essential dairy and plant-based, waters, and specialized nutrition. The essential dairy and plant-based division is the company’s cash cow with over 14 billion euros of global sales value. The dairy division is home to well-known dairy staples such as Actimel and Activia. Activia, a probiotic yogurt, is sold in more than 70 countries. More than 2.44 million Britons consumed Activia in 2022.The movement towards healthy and zero sugar beverages has led Danone’s plain water, flavored water and functional beverages to become the fastest growing division of the company in recent years. A broad product portfolio enables the company to compete with food and beverage powerhouses such as Nestlé and Unilever. While the United States is the company’s clear profit center for Danone, France and China ranked next highest in generated sales.
Addressing consumers
Staying at the top of the market requires following the trends and consumers’ shifting demands, which Danone knows very well. Embracing the plant-based segment brought Danone not only huge business opportunities in the veganism and vegetarianism markets, but also met many consumers’ expectations regarding more sustainable alternatives. The company plans to go further down this path in the future. The conversion of one of their large dairy processing units into a plant-based facility in 2023 is a good example of Danone’s continuous strategy to adapt to the changing market.
