Danone considers sale of organic business in US

Danone has announced that it will explore strategic options, including possible commercialization, of its organic dairy business in the United States, which consists of the Horizon Organic and Wallaby businesses.

The global food company said the announcement was an additional step in Danone’s portfolio review and asset rotation program announced in March 2022 as part of its ‘Renew Danone’ strategy.

Horizon Organic and Wallaby are strong brands in the US organic dairy category, with a portfolio of organic dairy products including milk, creamers, whiteners, yogurt, cheese and butter.

They represent approximately 3% of Danone’s global revenue, which the company said had a dilutive impact on Danone’s similar sales growth and recurring operating margin in 2022.

Chief Executive Officer Antoine de Saint-Afrique said:

“That said, they are out of focus for our priority growth areas when viewed through the lens of a ‘renewal’ strategy that requires us to remain disciplined about how we allocate resources.

“We believe that exploring strategic options for these brands will give them the focus and resources they need to maximize their potential and enable further growth.”

Danone

Earlier this month, Danone announced a global action plan to reduce absolute methane emissions from its milk supply chain by 30% by 2030.

Danone expects to remove 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) in methane emissions by 2030.

The ambitious plan builds on what the company said is progress it has made in recent years, already reducing methane emissions by about 14% between 2018 and 2020.

Danone is one of the first food companies to set a methane reduction target and align with the Global Methane Pledge launched at COP26.

The company reports methane emissions as part of additional financial disclosures.