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:: In 2001, DANONE’s organic adventure began in the United States when Stonyfield Farm, an organic yogurt producer since 1983, joined the Group.
It turned out to be a highly successful partnership. Over the last five years, the subsidiary has grown 70%. Drawing on this experience, the Group created Stonyfield Europe in June 2006 to promote organic products in Europe. In Ireland, it took a 37% position in the local organic dairy products leader.
In France, it launched the "Les 2 Vaches des Fermiers du Bio" brand, a range of products produced from organic milk and fruit, free of any chemical treatments. The products have been given the “organic farming” label. DANONE also militates in favour of the development of alternative farming techniques, redistributes part of its profits to NGOs and uses marketing techniques that draw on the experience of Stonyfield farm in the United States.
In addition, the "Les 2 Vaches des fermiers du bio" brand offers an outlet for the 40% of milk produced with an “organic farming” label which would otherwise have to be commercialised as conventional milk. Will dairy production ever be 100% organic ? For DANONE, sustainable and organic farming are not contradictory, and there is no need to shift from one to the other. What’s more, both models are constantly evolving, due in particular to changes in the regulatory context that force traditional farms to take greater account of the environment in their operations.
