Danone inaugurated Monday in the Paris region, in the presence of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, its new “lung”, a cutting-edge center for developing and testing products that will feed tomorrow’s consumers and the growth of the group. Danone’s new boss since September 2021, Antoine de Saint-Affrique, gave the Prime Minister a tour of the large wood and glass building, accompanied by three ministers: Sylvie Retailleau (Higher Education and Research), Marc Fesneau (Agriculture and Food Sovereignty) and Roland Lescure (Industry).
“At the forefront of agri-food innovation”
Elisabeth Borne sampled a protein-enriched yogurt for athletes, developed in anticipation of next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. Roland Lescure suggested consuming it “for parliamentary marathons” as the review of the pension reform began in the National Assembly.
Elisabeth Borne said in a speech that Danone was “at the forefront of agri-food innovation”, “to seek not only what is effective, but what is best and sustainable”. She also said the group had “shown that work can and should make sense, particularly by becoming the first listed company with a mission.”
A mini-factory of 3500 square meters
This new center based on the Saclay plateau, south of Paris, will be “the lung of our international research ecosystem” along with that of Utrecht in the Netherlands, Antoine de Saint-Affrique said. The building houses, in particular, the group’s ferment library (essential for dairy products) “which has been enriched over the years” to include 1,900 different strains, the general director of innovation research stressed to journalists of the group, Isabelle Esser.
It also has a consumption center, to test innovations with them, as well as a mini-factory of 3,500 square meters. It allows “to model on a small scale what we will later do on a large scale”, described Antoine Saint-Affrique. He took over the management of Danone, a group with 24,000 million euros in annual sales, after an unprecedented government crisis for the group, in a context of shareholder revolt and internal divisions. Antoine de Saint-Affrique’s mission is to relaunch growth and seeks to differentiate itself from the competition with “superior” products in flavor and nutritional value.
Source: BFM TV
