Bringing health through food does not only rely on healthier products and promoting healthier behaviors. Our mission also requires that our own business practices help to build a healthier future. Maintaining and building trust with our consumers and stakeholders is core to our ability to fulfil our mission. One way that trust can be preserved is by ensuring that we are responsible when communicating with our consumers – especially children – and to make food safety of our top priority everywhere and at all times.

In the particular case of communications aimed at children, Danone is audited through its own process Danone Way, as well as through the numerous local and regional pledges it has joined. In most of the countries involved, compliance with this commitment is certified by an external agency. Another example, regarding the EU Pledge, the TV and Internet media compliance scores are disclosed in Danone’s reportings- Integrated report, Danone Nutrition Achievements leaflet, both disclosed on Danone’s website.

Non-compliances are addressed through an internal response mechanism. At local level for national pledges and at EU Public Affairs level for the EU Pledge. Corrective actions are put in place.

Concerning the marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes, we perform self-initiated external audits. Every year, we engage with a qualified third-party expert to undertake external audits, we publish their results and follow up on indicated areas of concern.

As a food company, we believe that we have a critical role to play in having a positive role towards public health and nutrition issues through our broad product portfolio. We also believe that our communication and services should help educate consumers about the importance of healthy diets and healthy lifestyles and provide relevant information to healthcare professionals as to the importance of proper nutrition at all ages. 
Danone is committed to responsible advertising in compliance with the International Chamber of Commerce Code for Responsible Food and Beverage Marketing Communication and national and regional standards.
Danone’s approach to responsible marketing embraces all paid and unpaid communications developed by Danone, and especially material used to promote its brands or products to consumers.

Danone commits to ensure that its marketing communications are legal, decent, honest, and truthful, with claims having a sound scientific basis. More particularly:

• We ensure that the true commercial purpose of marketing communications is transparent and recognizable as an advertisement; and to clearly differentiate, by labelling, advertising and content on virtual media, including so-called “native advertising”.
• We deliver the nutritional facts that empower consumers and practitioners to make informed dietary choices.
• We place a special emphasis on practical, user-friendly information to support consumers to build healthy diets for themselves and their families.
• We ensure that our information on product benefits is reliable and speaks a language consumers understand.

Working through our industry trade bodies, such as the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), we support the development of general principles in this area, and their integration into advertising and marketing self-regulatory codes and systems around the world.

90%[1] of Danone’s sales volumes being in healthy categories, the vast majority of our marketing spendings is on healthy products. 

Keenly aware of the prevalence of chronic diet- and lifestyle-related diseases, it is our policy and principle to avoid any type of message that could encourage overconsumption of any of our products or the pursuit of unhealthy lifestyles. We commit to presenting products in a context of a balanced diet.

Danone also commits to promoting diversity in its advertising.

[1] 2019 figure. A conversion factor has been applied for all products that are not consumed as such but “reconstituted,” e.g. milk powders that must be added with milk, etc

Danone believes in the power of brand and product communications to make healthy products desirable and to drive healthy choices.

In 2024, Danone further enhanced its commitment to responsible marketing by adhering to the government-endorsed Health Star Rating (HSR) system to determine which Danone products can be used in marketing communications* to children. As such, only products with a rating of 3.5 stars or above will be able to be advertised to audiences composed of more than 25% of children under the age of 16, across all channels for which age targeting is possible. In addition, Danone will not engage in marketing communications in schools, unless requested by the administration, and only for educational purposes, with products rated 3.5 stars or above on HSR.

Danone also participates in voluntary pledges at regional and local levels, wherever such programs are compatible with its policy on marketing to children. If applicable laws set stricter requirements than Danone’s policy, they will take precedence; however, if local standards and regulations are less stringent, Danone will apply its Marketing to Children Policy criteria.

For more details, Danone's Marketing to Children Policy is available here.

* This refers to paid and unpaid communications developed by or on behalf of Danone in the following media: TV, radio, print, cinema, outdoor (billboards, posters, vehicles, etc.), online on all digital platforms and websites (including company-owned websites and social media profiles, streaming platforms and video-sharing platforms), native advertising, computer games including in-game promotion, product placements across all media, mobile and SMS marketing. Danone marketing communications are considered to be addressed to children under the age of 16 when these represent at least 25% of the audience.

All commercial communications which includes health or nutrition claims, and which are aimed at the public, customers or healthcare professionals, including collective advertising and promotional campaigns where a Danone brand is named or implied, must be validated according to this Directive.

The General Manager of each Business Unit (BU) is liable for all such communications and in charge of their validation. For such purpose, the General Manager of the BU appoints a BU Claims Validation Manager (“BU CVM”). The BU CVM ensures that a process is in place, and properly applied, to validate communications locally, including as a minimum the General Manager of the BU, the BU CVM, and representatives responsible of Compliance, of Science and/or Nutrition, and of Public opinion.

Communications comply with the regulatory frameworks concerned, local practice, and codes of good practice and ethics. Communications are consistent with the image of the Brand concerned and with Danone Nutrition Commitments. Nutrition or health claims are substantiated by scientific evidence. To ensure the consistency and robustness of communications to consumers and healthcare professionals, Communication Guidelines are established and implemented according to the local regulatory framework.