Danone Floats New Unit to Develop Products for Masses
Thursday, October 6, 2011
French dairy firm Danone today launched a new business unit in India dedicated for developing products for the masses, as it looks to expand its presence in smaller towns and cities.
The new unit, Danone BOP India will focus on development and marketing of products that will primarily target smaller towns, where disposable incomes are low.
“We have launched a new business unit dedicated to base of pyramid [BOP] consumers… There have been lot of initiatives within the group to create a separate business unit that will develop and market products that are meant for the masses,” Danone BOP India Director Eric Soubeiran said.
Announcing the launch of two diary products under the brand ’Fundooz’ priced at Rs 10 and Rs 5, the company said India is the first country where Danone has launched such a dedicated unit for the bottom of the pyramid by the group.
“BOP population in India is around 600 million people… and India is the largest producer of milk in the world. So we see that a potential,” he said.
Danone, which is currently present only in the metros like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore, said penetration of diary products in India is low due to cold chain and logistic issues.
