Danone () is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in 1919 in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris, where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. In 2020, Danone became the first listed company to adopt the status of société à mission, as introduced by France's PACTE law of 2019.
Danone was formed through the 1973 merger of two French groups: Gervais Danone and Boussois-Souchon-Neuvesel (BSN). Gervais Danone itself resulted from the 1967 merger of Danone—founded by Isaac Carasso in Barcelona, Spain, in 1919—and Gervais. BSN was created in 1966 through the merger of the glass manufacturer Boussois and the glassworks company Souchon-Neuvesel. In 1994, the group adopted the name of its flagship fresh dairy brand, Danone. Under the leadership of Antoine Riboud, the company had become France's largest food manufacturer and the third-largest food group in Europe.
Over time the company organized its activities around three main business segments: fresh dairy and plant-based products, bottled water, and specialized nutrition, including medical and infant nutrition. Present in more than 120 markets in 2025, Danone reported sales of €27.283 billion, making it the world's tenth-largest food company. The group employs approximately 90,000 people worldwide across more than 180 production sites.
In 2025 dairy and plant-based products represented 48% of total group sales; specialized nutrition (medical and infant), 34%; and water, 18%. Danone is the 4th largest dairy processing company globally, behind Nestlé, Dairy Farmers of America, and Lactalis.
History
Birth of Danone and creation of Gervais Danone (1919–1969)
At the end of World War I in Europe, many children suffered from intestinal disorders linked to poor hygiene conditions. Isaac Carasso, a merchant, took an interest in the research of Élie Metchnikoff, a researcher at the Pasteur Institute and Nobel laureate in 1908. This research focused on the benefits of yoghurts and lactic ferments on health, highlighting in particular their use in treating intestinal disorders. Isaac Carasso was already familiar with the virtues of : in Thessaloniki, where he was from, the product was widely available and sold in the streets by the kilogram. He decided to introduce it in Spain, incorporating lactic cultures on the advice of doctors. The Pasteur Institute supplied the cultures.
In 1919 in a small workshop in Barcelona, Isaac Carasso launched yoghurt production. The yoghurts were made with fresh milk and delivered the following day. The brand was initially called "Danon", after the Catalan nickname of his son "petit Daniel". However, a proper name could not serve as a trade name under Spanish law. The founder added an "e" to register the brand, which became "Danone". In 1923, the Barcelona College of Physicians officially recognized the properties of yoghurt. The pots were sold in pharmacies on doctors' recommendations, and later in dairy shops.
After commercial studies in Marseille and a bacteriology placement at the Institut Pasteur, Daniel Carasso, then aged 20, launched the brand in France in 1929 by founding the Société Parisienne du yoghourt Danone. The first factory opened in 1932 in Levallois-Perret. The company progressively developed its distribution network in the Paris region, contributing to the spread of yoghurt into everyday consumption. The product range expanded rapidly. In 1937, Dany, the first fruit yoghurt, was launched. Fruit-flavored yoghurts were commercialized in 1953, smooth-style yoghurts in 1963, and gelled varieties in 1966.
In 1942 the occupation of France forced Daniel Carasso to take refuge in the United States. He continued developing the brand, acquired a yoghurt manufacturer, and launched Dannon Milk Products. On the advice of French publicist Raymond Loewy, the brand's spelling was Americanized to avoid mispronunciation. Dannon Inc. was incorporated in the United States.
Back in France, Daniel Carasso sold his American company to Beatrice Foods (it would be repurchased by Danone France in 1981) and sought to strengthen Danone. The company merged in 1967 with Fromageries to form Gervais-Danone.
From yoghurt to its jar (1970–1977)
In the early 1970s Gervais-Danone acquired numerous pasta and canned food brands: Milliat Frères, Panzani, Garbit, Petitjean, and Lhuissier, thereby becoming the leading pasta producer in France.
At the same time Boussois-Souchon-Neuvesel (BSN), initially present in the packaging market, saw its attempted takeover of glassmaker Saint-Gobain fail. Its chairman Antoine Riboud decided to reorient the company's strategy by diversifying into the food industry, with the objective of moving from packaging production to food products. BSN took control of the Évian and Badoit bottled mineral water brands, Blédina, and the Kanterbräu and Kronenbourg breweries, becoming a major player in the beer, mineral water, and infant nutrition sectors.
In 1973 BSN merged with Gervais Danone. The new entity was named BSN-Gervais-Danone. The group's main activities at that point were fresh products, beverages, pasta, and prepared meals. Antoine Riboud, who initiated the operation, took over its leadership.
Refocusing on food, diversification and group expansion (1978–1995)
In 1978 BSN-Gervais Danone acquired the Belgian brewery Alken. The following year, in the wake of the oil crisis, the company divested its flat glass activities and refocused on food. The group expanded and extended its activities across Europe. In 1980, it acquired the food branch of Générale Occidentale, specializing in grocery and confectionery, and owner of numerous brands including Carambar, Liebig, Vandamme, La Pie qui Chante, and Maille. BSN-Gervais Danone became France's leading food company.
In 1983 the group dropped the BSN-Gervais Danone name and simplified it to BSN. Despite this change, the fresh dairy products inherited from Gervais Danone remained a core activity.
In 1987 BSN entered the biscuit market by acquiring Générale Biscuit, owner of the LU brand and present in several European countries. Two years later, the group acquired several European subsidiaries of the American company Nabisco, including Belin. It thereby became the leading biscuit producer in Europe and one of the principal global players. The group's turnover at that time stood at 48.7 billion francs.
In 1993 BSN acquired Vivagel and combined its food activities with those of the group (Marie, William Saurin, La Belle Chaurienne) within a joint subsidiary named Panzalim. Following Saint-Louis's withdrawal in 1996, BSN recovered its full portfolio of brands.
As its international presence grew, the BSN name remained little-known to the general public – particularly as it was already used by a bank in Spain, a textile company in the United States, and a television channel in Japan. In a context of globalization, the group chose to leverage its most visible brand, Danone, which alone accounted for a quarter of turnover. In 1994, BSN changed its name to "Groupe Danone", represented by "the child with a star". The company at that point owned nearly 300 brands.
Refocusing on three areas and the beginning of internationalization (1996–2006)
Franck Riboud, CEO of Danone from 1996 to 2014, chairman of the board of directors from 2014 to 2017, and honorary chairman since 2017.
In 1996 Antoine Riboud, chairman of the Danone group, retired at the age of 77 and stepped down from his position. His son Franck succeeded him. This year marked the beginning of a period of refocusing for the company around health and healthy eating, and an acceleration of its international development.
Following several acquisitions in emerging markets, the Danone group acquired 51% of Hangzhou Wahaha Group, the leading non-alcoholic beverage producer in China. Zong Qinghou, the company's founder, became chairman of Danone-Wahaha, which held nearly 39 joint ventures. All products were marketed under the Wahaha brand. Through this partnership, the Danone group generated three-quarters of its Chinese activity and 10% of its global sales.
In the years that followed, the company divested more than half of its grocery activities and all of its confectionery: Panzani, Amora Maille, and William Saurin were sold to Paribas Affaires Industrielles; Marie to Uniq plc; Liebig to Campbell's; and La Pie qui Chante, Carambar, and Vandamme to Cadbury.
At the same time the company accelerated its internationalization strategy in emerging markets and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1998. That same year, the group was the official supplier of dairy products at the FIFA World Cup. Three brands were highlighted: Danone, Évian, and LU. In 1999, the group divested its packaging and beer operations, including the sale of Kronenbourg and Alken-Maes breweries to Scottish & Newcastle in 2000. That same year, Danone chose to establish a research and development center in Palaiseau, in the Paris-Saclay scientific and technology cluster.
In the years that followed, Danone continued its development in emerging markets, notably in Latin America (Uruguay, Chile), Asia (China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam), North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Egypt), and the Middle East (Israel, Saudi Arabia), as well as in North America with the acquisition of Stonyfield Farm, a global leader in organic yoghurt.
On 10 January 2001 the newspaper Le Monde revealed the forthcoming closure of two LU factories. On 29 March, Danone announced the reorganization of its biscuit operations in Europe, aimed at rationalizing industrial capacity. The plan provided in particular for the closure of two LU factories in France, in Calais and Ris-Orangis, as well as the elimination of 1,780 jobs across Europe, including 570 in France. This decision provoked significant social and political mobilization in France, even as the company was profitable. Strikes, demonstrations, and calls to boycott Danone products were organized, relayed by certain elected officials, trade unions, and associations. The movement attracted considerable public attention, though it also generated divisions. The affair gave rise to a notable media controversy in spring 2001, affecting the group's image. It was also accompanied by legal proceedings related to the creation of critical websites against Danone: after an initial conviction, a court of appeal reaffirmed in 2003 the primacy of freedom of expression in this context.
Antoine Riboud died on 5 May 2002, aged 83.
In July 2005 a rumor spread about a possible hostile takeover of Danone by PepsiCo. The story, broken by Challenges magazine, claimed that PepsiCo had acquired 3% of Danone's capital. Politicians from both left and right, as well as trade unions, rallied to defend the Danone group, describing it as "an industrial jewel". Pepsi denied any such intention, but the affair caused a significant stir, and the French government announced it would do everything possible to protect the Danone group. The Financial Markets Authority (AMF) announced that PepsiCo had certified on 24 July that it was not preparing a bid for the group.