News
Danone acquires US firm to strengthen medical nutrition portfolio
The US-based whole foods tube feeding business was purchased from Swander Pace Capital for an undisclosed fee and will strengthen Danone’s medical nutrition portfolio by enabling the expansion of its enteral tube feeding ranges.
The deal forms part of the Renew Danone strategy, which was introduced in a bid to “restore growth, competitiveness and value creation for the long-term”.
Meanwhile, Functional Formularies operates as a provider of organic, whole food, shelf-stable feeding tube formulas, offering an alternative to traditional formulas used across the medical sector.
Currently, the business offers its products to institutional customers in hospital and long-term care settings and to retail customers online throughout the US and Canada.
‘Functional Formularies offers greatly differentiated product portfolio’
Commenting on the move, Danone deputy CEO and chief financial officer Juergen Esser said: “As a global leader in medical nutrition, we are delighted to welcome Functional Formularies to Danone.
“We are confident that with the addition of the greatly differentiated product portfolio of Functional Formularies, which complements our existing Real Food Blends branded range, we are even better positioned to support the nutritional needs of tube-fed families and patients.”
In a statement on LinkedIn, Functional Formularies confirmed it had joined the “Nutricia North America family”, Nutricia being a brand owned by Danone, and pledged to “serve people living on feeding tubes better”.
“We are excited about this new partnership and remain committed to bringing Nourishment to Thrive to as many people as possible,” the statement added.
Headquartered in Paris, France, Danone manufactures food and drink products across three categories – essential dairy and plant-based products, waters and specialised nutrition.
With almost 90,000 employees and products sold in over 120 markets, Danone generated €27.6 billion in sales in 2023.
Meanwhile, its portfolio of brands includes Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, evian, Nutrilon and Volvic.
In other news, UK beer manufacturer Greene King has announced plans to invest £40m into the development of a “state-of-the-art” brewery in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
