By bringing together four category businesses – Specialised Nutrition, Plant-Based, Dairy and Waters – into one unified company with one leadership team, Danone UK & Ireland said it anticipates it will boost its growth opportunities by maximizing insights and expertise across the business.
The changes are the culmination of Danone’s global Local First project, first announced in November 2020 to help deliver greater business impact and drive sustainable growth. The new structure has been implemented to ensure Danone UK & Ireland offers a more localized approach, enabling the business to best meet specific marketplace and consumer needs, and tap into developing growth spaces such as healthy ageing and plant-based alternatives.
Mayer takes the helm after more than 17 years at Danone, alongside a new leadership team of nine vice presidents. Previously senior vice president specialised nutrition for Europe and North America, Mayer brings expertise of managing and integrating divisions across 23 markets and leading a team of nine zone general managers. His prior roles at Danone have also included MD for the UK’s Early Life Nutrition business and global commercial vice president Early Life Nutrition.
Danone UK & Ireland said it plans to capitalize on growth opportunities by investing in its research, innovation, and digital capabilities, as well as brands, products, and services.
Danone said it is progressing towards full B Corp certification across all its legal entities in the UK & Ireland – with its Waters, Dairy, Alpro and Harrogate Water divisions already B Corp accredited. Danone is on track to certify all its operations around the globe as B Corp by 2025.
Mayer said, “This is an exciting time for Danone, and I’m incredibly proud to be leading the business into this new chapter. Danone’s strong family of much-loved brands already support the health of millions of consumers and patients across the UK & Ireland at every stage in their life. Bringing together our category expertise will enable us to explore existing growth areas, as well as maximising new opportunities like the plant-based sector. By seeking new ways to promote healthier diets, we will drive sustainable growth through an even stronger portfolio of purpose-driven products, brands and services.
“Using our business as a force for good has always been in Danone’s DNA, and we remain committed to offering health through food for as many people as possible. Our ‘One Planet. One Health’ framework reflects our belief that the health of people and planet are interconnected – and we know we must continuously strive to empower consumers to make the best choices for themselves and the planet.”