Izvestia: Danone may abandon some brands in Russia

After the sale of the Russian business, the French company Danone plans to abandon some of its global brands in Russia, including Alpro, Activia, Actimel and Danone itself. About it reported Izvestia, citing sources.

Danone Russia confirmed that they are exploring various “opportunities on how to make international brands more relevant to the local market.” In particular, earlier information appeared on social networks that Danone could use the name Prostokvashino instead of the main brands. Curds, yoghurts and other desserts are already produced under this brand.

According to the head of Streda Consulting Alexey Gruzdev, there is a variant in which Danone will not object if the company in Russia uses names consonant with global brands, for example, “ActiviYA” instead of “ActiviA”.

At the beginning of March 2022, Danone announced the suspension of investment projects in Russia. Then the company noted that the decision will not affect the production and distribution of food products. On March 23, Danone announced that it would continue to produce dairy products and baby food in Russia, but would cease all other ties with the country.

In October 2022, the company announced about plans to abandon business in Russia. Control of the dairy and plant products division will be transferred to a new owner. The company explained that they believe this solution is the best option to ensure long-term local business continuity for employees, consumers and partners.

In early February, Kommersant informedthat Danone is ready to transfer control over a part of Russian assets to potential investors, subject to the inclusion of a buyback option in the transaction. According to the publication, several unnamed investment funds showed interest in the assets. The company itself did not comment on this topic.

Danone is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of dairy products and other food products. The company has been operating in more than 140 countries around the world, in the Russian Federation since 1992. In Russia, the company manufactures products under the brands Danone, Danissimo, Prostokvashino, Activia, Actimel, Bio Balance, Rastishka, Aktual, “Smeshariki”, “Theme”, etc. The Danone Russia group includes 19 factories, which employ more than 100,000 employees.