Saint-Affrique: How He Revived Danone’s Success

Danone accelerates into the huge infant nutrition market with the acquisition of Kate Farms

And the pace should accelerate, thanks to last summer’s $500 million takeover of Kate Farms. An American company that its creators, Richard and Michelle Laver, decided to specialize in plant-based protein drinks, while their daughter Kate could not eat properly due to an immune disease.

The takeover file was led by Antoine de Saint-Affrique, during a rapid and discreet negotiation with the CEO of Kate Farms, Brett Matthews. “I met Antoine for the first time in Bordeaux, in 2024, when I was going with my family on the paths to Compostela. We saw each other face to face. I contacted him again the following winter, and he showed up for the Super Bowl. We talked for four hours. I felt that Danone was the right company to partner with because it is the only one in the sector that only sells health food.», Tells us the man who now manages the group’s American subsidiary dedicated to medical nutrition.

High protein, a market estimated at more than 100 billion dollars annually by 2030

Thanks to this acquisition, Danone is opening up the infant nutrition market, valued at 5 billion euros per year in the United States alone. And Kate Farms products, recommended by insurers, could well, within a few years, be distributed in Europe, once marketing authorizations have been obtained. In the meantime, thanks to its contacts in mass distribution, the French group has just listed the brand at Walmart and Amazon. “Without Danone, it would have taken us much longer to enter distributors of this size. But our plant-based products also have the advantage, for these traders, of being kept for up to twelve months.», underlines Brett Mathews.

This new line of high-protein references should help Danone to make further progress in this market, a true El Dorado which should be worth more than 100 billion dollars annually worldwide by 2030. Even if some qualify the phenomenon. “More and more investors believe that this protein boom is a long-term movement. I will be a little more level-headed. While sustainable segments can arise from such fads, their growth is never eternal. For Danone, this means accelerating the geographic development of these products, and using the out-of-home distribution network to push protein drinkable yogurts alongside bottles of water, for example.», details Pierre Tegner, d’Oddo.

The distribution also wants its piece of the pie

Some research and development expenses are also to be expected. “As the American consumer does not have the same tastes as the French, this requires local adaptation», nuances Benjamin Voirin, agronomist and creator of ScanNuts, a mobile application which dissects the labels of nutritional products, like the pioneer Yuka. According to him, many products on the market are also very questionable. “Manufacturers do not indicate the traceability of proteins. However, depending on their origin and the treatment they have undergone, they will be more or less fatty, and more or less expensive. For example, to switch from soy to whey isolate powder (from milk isolate, concentrated to at least 80% protein, Editor’s note)it takes 4 to 5 steps. And the customer is most often unaware of this», Indicates this specialist.

So many drawbacks which do not prevent the industry from accelerating, distributors included: after Leclerc and Auchan, who launched their range of sports nutrition, it is Carrefour which has just joined forces with the YouTuber specializing in bodybuilding Tibo InShape. Ready, set, pump up!

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