Renew Danone: Our plan to restore growth, & drive value creation

A one-of-a-kind company 

Four strategic pillars to Renew Danone 

Antoine, together with his Executive Committee, and with oversight of the Board of Directors, set out a plan to 'Renew Danone'. 

The plan will allow Danone to reconnect with a sustainable profitable growth model. It will be based upon an end-to-end step up in the quality of execution, a strengthened innovation model geared for scale and impact, and increased investments in consumer value, as well as brands and commercial development.

Delivery of the plan will be facilitated by a greater alignment between purpose and performance, consistently putting consumer and customer at the heart of everything Danone does. The company will restore passion for execution, a stronger discipline on capital allocation, and a greater sense of urgency in seizing opportunities and tackling issues.

The four strategic pillars are:

• Restoration of Danone’s competitiveness in core categories and geographies;
• Selective expansion of Danone’s presence, in terms of segments, channels and geographies;
• Active seeding of future growth avenues;
• Active portfolio rotation.

Commenting at a Capital Markets event in Evian, where he first set out the strategy, Antoine said:

“Renew Danone” is all about creating the conditions for sustainable and competitive growth, and then delivering consistently in a way that creates sustainable value for all. 

Danone is a one-of-a-kind company, with a culture anchored in a vision combining entrepreneurship and responsibility. It is a company with iconic local and global brands, playing in growing and on-trend categories. Danone has been leading the way in many fields: branding, innovation, people’s development and sustainability. But we have also been underperforming our markets for a while and have a lot we can improve on. 

In the short term, we have to take better care of our core, with a renewed focus on great execution and strong innovations. We will face into our issues with greater speed and without compromise but will also make sure we better leverage our real strengths. 

We first must win where we are. We also have the opportunity to expand our brands in places they should be. This, combined with active portfolio management, will bring us back in the race. In parallel, we will start seeding for the future with the ambition to outperform our markets then. 

None of this can be achieved without the passion of the Danoners. Building from our value, we want to revive a culture where performance and sustainability go hand in hand, and where you see the best of being local and global coming together. We want Danone to be known for being the home of great talents and great brands, and a synonym for great innovation and great execution. 

We are embarking on a renewal journey with a worthy destination: bringing Danone back to where it belongs.”