Danone has everything vegan here (it’s not just yogurt!).

Before becoming a successful businessman, entrepreneur and millionaire as a boy, Daniel Carasso was Danon (or “little Daniel” in Catalan) to his father, Isaac Carasso. His affectionate nickname, of course, inspired Danone, one of the world’s largest and most influential food companies, which is credited with popularizing yogurt in the United States.

But while Karasos Corp. was built on the back of dairy yogurt, right now, its future looks more plant-based. Here’s more about Danone’s vegan brand portfolio and why it’s consistently growing and improving. But first: How did little Daniel’s become a multi-billion dollar food empire?

History of Danone

Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, to a Sephardic Jewish family, Daniel moved with his family to Barcelona, ​​Spain in 1916. And that’s where his father Isaac started making yogurt.

Isaac was inspired by the work of Elie Metchnikoff – a Russian zoologist, immunologist and Nobel laureate – who was an early proponent of probiotics (live bacteria) and their role in maintaining good health. Isaac sold his yogurt (which he named Danone) in pharmacies, in an attempt to help the high number of Spanish children suffering from intestinal diseases.

But, according to The Smithsonian, as Daniel grew up, he became more business minded. He learned more about bacteriology and fermentation at the Pasteur Institute in Paris (a non-profit organization dedicated to biomedical research that continues today), and after that, he stayed in the French capital to launch a new version of his father’s yogurt business, the Société Parisien du Yogurt. Danone.

Daniel achieved great success, but during World War II, he was forced to flee France for the United States. Again, he tried to find success in the curd industry. And he finally did. After he decided to sweeten the formula with strawberry jam in the late 1940s, American consumers, quite literally, lapped it up.

Over the years, Daniel and Isaac led Danone to corporate success. In the 1970s, the business merged with glass producer Bussos-Suchon-Neuves and the company became BSN-Gervais-Danone, before being shortened again to just Danone.

Now, the company, again headquartered in France, is a multinational, with a market value of more than $35 billion. But while its core business is still very dairy-focused, the corporation has also shown keen interest in plant-based markets. In addition, it is also working on becoming the first multinational to become a certified B corporation, which will commit the company to ensure all its operations conform to strict social and environmental performance standards.

Is Danone going vegan?

Currently, the milk market is decreasing. In fact, since 2003, more than half of licensed dairy operations in the United States have closed. Undoubtedly, there is still a market for dairy products, but the demand for them does not seem to be what it used to be. This is, in part, due to the growth of the plant-based market. Now, consumers are more open to trying different non-dairy milks, cheeses and yogurts, and Danone knows it.

That’s why, in 2016, the French-headquartered corporation announced it was acquiring WhiteWave Foods, the parent company of several plant-based brands including Silk, Alpro and So Delicious, for $12.5 billion. “Danone and WhiteWave are a perfect match to create global leaders in harnessing consumer trends and expectations for healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking choices,” Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber said at the time.

Danone is a long way from transitioning to a fully plant-based portfolio, but it is committed to nurturing the growth of its dairy-free brands. Two years ago, it invested $49 million to convert a French dairy into an oat milk plant for Alpro. And by the end of 2022, it revealed it will invest $22 million to make its plant-based drinks more nutritious.

In 2021, it also announced new “plant-based 2.0” technology to upgrade products from Silk, Alpro and So Delicious, to encourage more people to try dairy-free options. “While we may consider plant-based beverages to be very advanced, 60 percent of consumers are still not in this category,” Shane Grant, Danone’s interim co-chief executive officer and chief executive officer of North America, said in an earnings call. the time

“So as the category leader, it’s really an opportunity that we see as an opportunity to really grow the segment overall and then really lead it,” he added. “We know that the barrier is mainly the taste of the product and the texture of the product.”

Vegan-friendly Danone brand

So, are you now wondering what other vegan-friendly brands Danone owns? There are a few, it turns out. We’ve got the lowdown on everyone.

Silk/Instagram

1 silk

Founded in Colorado in the 1970s, Silk has been on the dairy-free scene for decades, before plant-based milk was considered a pretty mainstream item. Now, its wide range of products includes a variety of plant-based milks (from soy to oat to cashew), yogurt alternatives and coffee creamers. And recently, it launched its dairy-imitation silk Next Milk using Danone’s “plant-based 2.0” technology.
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Alpro

2 Alpro

Again, Alpro was one of the first plant-based milk brands on the scene, as it first launched in the 1980s—this time in Europe. Over time, its drinks became synonymous with soy milk (before the boom in dairy-free alternatives), and it is still one of the most popular vegan brands in the European market. Like Silk’s Next Milk, its Alpro Nut Milk is built with a “plant-based 2.0” platform and is designed to closely mimic cow’s milk.
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Activia

3 Activia

In the 1980s, Danone debuted a yogurt brand called Activia. And like Isaac’s first creation, it was designed to help people with their digestive health. To this day, the brand is still going strong and its products are available on five continents. In 2019, Danone launched plant-based Activia in Europe for the first time — complete with gut-friendly probiotics.
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Actimail/Instagram

4 Actimel

Like Activia, Actimel is a type of probiotic yogurt—only instead of eating it, you drink it. Recently, Danone launched the first vegan Actimel range in the UK called Actimel 100% Dairy Free. “We’re really excited to bring our decades of experience in live culture and immune support to the plant-based world with the launch of our Actimel 100% Dairy Free Shot,” Sarah Dossett, Danone’s UK and Ireland marketing director for dairy and plant-based, said at the time.
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So delicious/Instagram

5 Very tasty

Founded in the late 1980s, US brand So Delicious is arguably best known for its line of creamy frozen desserts, but also offers milk, creamer, vegan cheeses and, of course, the Danone signature, yogurt. Using “plant-based 2.0” technology, the brand recently launched a new Wondermilk range, which includes dairy-free sweets in the form of Vanilla Peanut Sundae and Cookies & Cream.
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Follow your heart / Instagram

6 Listen to your own mind

Follow your heart had humble beginnings. It started with a California vegetarian restaurant, before becoming the popular plant-based brand we know today. It’s best known for its vegan take on mayonnaise (aptly called Vegenaise), but it also offers vegetarian versions of mustard dressing, parmesan, cream cheese, and more.

In 2021, Danone publicly recognized the potential of the brand when it acquired Earth Island, which produced Follow Your Heart. At the time, Bob Goldberg, CEO of Follow Your Heart, was eager to reassure people that it would help the brand reach more people with its plant-based mission.

“I am pleased to report that we have found a company with which we feel both a shared vision and shared values, and which we believe will help us advance and expand our mission faster than perhaps any other organization in the world.” she said.
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Oykos/Instagram

7 Oikos

Established in the 1990s and now available worldwide, Oikos (known as Oykos in the UK) specializes in delicious, creamy Greek yogurt. But in 2020, Danone decided to expand the range in the UK with Oykos Dairy Free Chocolate Stracciatella Yogurt, inspired by the taste of traditional Italian gelato.
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Harmless crops

8 Harmless crops

Founded in 2009, California-based Harmless Harvest began as a coconut water brand with a large focus on ethical, organic sourcing in Thailand. Since then, it has expanded beyond coconut water and also offers vegan coconut smoothies and yogurt. In 2021, Danone Manifesto Ventures (Danone’s corporate venture arm) acquired a majority stake in Harmless Harvest, meaning it now has majority ownership as well. But that said, while Danone provides financial and strategic support to the brand, Harmless Harvest still operates independently.
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