Danone, the world’s largest yogurt maker, expects double-digit percentage dairy
sales growth in the United States over the long-term and aims to double per
capita consumption in that market within four years.
Gustavo Valle, chief executive officer of Dannon, the French group’s U.S. $1
billion-plus yogurt business, said the U.S. market is still very underdeveloped
with consumption six times lower than in Western Europe.
“For the future, we see double-digit growth on a long-term basis,” Valle said on
Monday at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago. “In four years, we
can double the consumption per capita.”
Dannon cut U.S. yogurt prices by 3 percent to 5 percent in mid-2009 as part of a
wider group move to reflect the fall in milk prices. That helped boost sales by
15 percent in the second half of 2009 compared to flat sales in the first half
of 2009.
Photo Caption: Dannon Co. President and CEO Gustavo Valle speaks during the
Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago March 15, 2010.
Photo Credit: REUTERS/John Gress
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