French dairy giant Danone, through its joint venture with dairy co-op Murray Goulburn, has announced the Australian launch of its popular yoghurt Activia. A leading global brand, Activia is sold in 68 countries, with more than 32 million 125g units of Activia consumed every day around the world. The yoghurt will be marketed largely to women, with a new advertising campaign citing commissioned research by Galaxy that “two out of three Australian women feel fat, lethargic and lack confidence... ...Read more »

Danone has agreed to settle with US regulators investigating claims the French food giant made when advertising probiotic products in the market. The US Federal Trade Commission said Danone had agreed to drop “exaggerated” health claims on Activia yoghurt and DanActive dairy drinks. The FTC said on Wednesday (15 December) that Danone’s US arm, The Dannon Co., had agreed to stop claiming that one daily serving of Activia relieves “irregularity” and that DanActive helps... ...Read more »

Japanese dairy firm Yakult has said it will continue to conduct human studies to back-up the health benefits of its probiotic products, after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) cast doubt on health claims for probiotics. In a series of opinions published on Tuesday, EFSA assessed more than 800 health claims from food companies. The claims included assertions that probiotic bacteria strains boost the immune system and reduce gut problems. However, EFSA’s independent panel of scientists... ...Read more »

Kellogg’s is the top packaged food brand in the U.S. according to Interbrand’s latest annual ranking of the 100 “Best Global Brands”. The cereal company was ranked number 35 – down one on a year earlier – in a study that analysed the value of global brands, studying their financial performance, their role in the purchase decision process and the strength of the brand to continue to secure earnings for their owner. Other food manufacturers on the list include Heinz... ...Read more »

Danone has refuted claims from Russian grocery retailer Seventh Continent that it has increased its wholesale prices in the country by up to 31%.The French food giant confirmed there had been an increase but not to the extent claimed by Seventh Continent. “Danone has increased prices for its products in Russia by 4% in average. [The] maximum increase for a single product was 9%,” the company told just-food yesterday (12 August). The Activia owner added that the increase was its first... ...Read more »

French food giant Danone is to enter the Australian market through a dairy products venture with local milk co-op Murray Goulburn. Products from the venture are scheduled for launch next year but Murray Goulburn MD Stephen O’Rourke said on Friday (14 May) the companies could “enter the Australian yoghurt market with confidence”. The venture will use Murray Goulburn’s site at Kiewa in north-east Victoria and is expected to boost jobs at the facility. Danone has sent a warning... ...Read more »

The European Consumers Association (BEUC) yesterday (27 April) insisted that a pledge to stop advertising junk food to children under the age of 12 throughout the EU needs to go further. Five European snack makers have decided to sign up to the EU Pledge, which was originally set up in 2007. Back then, manufacturers including Kraft Foods and Danone committed to stop any advertising on TV, in print and on the Internet that was targeted at children under the age of 12. This week, more companies, including... ...Read more »

Dairy group Danone has informed investors this week that they are very confident in the strength of their business model but have tempered expectations of high single-digit sales growth in the medium-term. Emmanuel Faber, co-COO of Danone, reaffirmed that the French firm expected like-for-like sales growth of four per cent in the second half of 2009 but reduced medium-term expectations by cutting the sales growth target to ‘at least 5%’ from the previous 8-10% guidance. “The world... ...Read more »

Dairy group Danone has reported sales growth of 2.4% on a like-for-like basis in the first three quarters as stronger volumes overcame a 1.5% decline in prices received. Consolidated sales fell, however, due to the impact of the sale of their beverage business Frucor earlier this year. Among brands, Activia and Danacol delivered strong performances, as their “health benefit brands” (Activia, Actimel, Danonino and Danacol) continued to grow faster than the average of the division. Franck... ...Read more »

The Dannon Company, American-based subsidiary of French dairy group Danone, has announced the US$35 million (A$40.6m) settlement of a class action lawsuit regarding alleged misleading advertising for its Activia and DanActive products. Under the settlement, Dannon will make certain changes and enhancements to the labeling and marketing of Activia and DanActive to increase the visibility of the scientific names of the unique strains of probiotics that are in each of these products. Dannon also agreed... ...Read more »