Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of Danone had recently joined French officials and Danone employees for the inauguration of the company’s newly transformed production facility in Villecomtal-sur-Arros in southwestern France.
Read: February Issue of Food Infotech Magazine.
Reflecting Danone’s focus on anticipating consumer needs, the site’s conversion to plant-based makes it a new reference point in Europe for the production of oat-based drinks for the Alpro brand. Partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the site will be the starting point for the “Danone Champions Tour”, the largest corporate relay race, with over 1,000 runners on February 19.
Villecomtal is now a center of industrial excellence in the heart of France, serving markets across Europe. Its transformation took nearly two years and called for a capital investment of several million euros. With its cutting-edge technology, the site is now home to Danone France’s only oat-flour-to-oat-juice production facility.
The Villecomtal-sur-Arros plant features two innovative and competitive production lines, one operating at high speed. Beverage output is set to reach over 300,000 liters a day for distribution in France and 26 other European markets. 90% of total production is designated for export, making the site a European showcase for French plant-based products.
To support the transformation of the site, all its employees received specialized training in plant processing techniques. Course content drew on Danone’s existing expertise, as the company already operates a facility dedicated to the production of plant-based products in Issenheim in eastern France. Thanks to exchanges between the two sites, 49 staff members at Villecomtalsur-Arros were trained by their counterparts at Issenheim to manage the start-up of the new production lines. As the food industry evolves, these employees are thus developing new future-facing skills. This site will be the starting point for new expertise at the forefront of innovation.
Yann Le Roy, Operations Manager, Danone France stated – “We’re a multi-local company, which means our strength and our future lie in our employees and our historic presence in local communities. Today we’re proud to open a new production site for plant-based beverages. Making these products in France gives us a unique position in this market.”
VILLECOMTAL AS A CATALYZER FOR THE FUTURE OF FOOD
As the global leader in both dairy and plant-based products, Danone focuses on inspiring healthy and diversified diets. With one-quarter of French people now identifying as flexitarian, the consumer demand for plant-based products is clear.
As such, Villecomtal embodies the “Renew Danone” strategy, based on adapting and rounding out product ranges to grow and maintain a competitive edge, in step with consumer demand for healthy, diversified products. All of which makes the facility a strategic priority for Danone, dedicated to diversification and future growth in France and other European countries. With the inauguration of Villecomtal-sur-Arros, Danone now has two French and four European sites dedicated to plant-based beverages, with the well-known Alpro brand a key driver.
Alpro already caters to 3.6 million regular consumers in France. Danone sells more than 20 million liters of Alpro plant-based beverages in France, and over 300 million across Europe. Building on the flexitarian trend developing in Europe, Danone is using all of its know-how to innovate both its dairy and plant-based products and meet French and European consumers’ demand for greater variety in their diets.
“Our Alpro brand is committed to dietary diversity, and we are working hard to meet demand. Going forward, we aim to raise awareness among France’s 67-million strong population. And to do that, we will be stepping up production of both our oat-based ranges, rich in plant proteins, and our on-the-go formats,” states Benjamin Chevallier, Country Manager Plant-Based France.