Danone sales grow as consumers focus on nutrition

Danone’s sales grew ahead of expectations in 2025, up 4.5% as consumers turned to high-protein and functional dairy products for nutrition.

The French multinational’s full year 2025 sales reached €27.2bn, with 4.5% like-for-like growth made up of 2.7% volume/mix growth and 1.8% pricing increases in the year to 31 December 2025

“Sustained momentum” in Europe, driven by the company’s Essential Dairy Products (EDP) division – owner of Activia, Actimel and Alpro – was supplemented by “exceptional performance” in China, North Asia and Oceania.

Double-digit growth in high-protein products and a return to positive sales growth for Activia helped Danone achieve a ninth consecutive quarter of positive volume/mix in Europe.

And while operating profits fell 13% to €2.9bn from one-off costs, Danone’s recurring operating margin grew 44 basis points to 13.4%, as the company entered the second phase of its multi-year Renew Danone strategy. 

Recurring operating profit grew 3% to €3.7bn.

“In 2025, we again delivered broad‑based, quality growth, reaffirming the strength and resilience of our health‑focused portfolio,” said CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique.

“We continued to perform, expand our recurring operating margin, improve ROIC and generate strong free cash flow, while transforming the company and reinvesting in capabilities, science, and innovation.

“As we advance Chapter 2 of Renew Danone, we are reshaping our portfolio: scaling U.S. Medical Nutrition, strengthening our dairy strongholds, advancing microbiome science, and accelerating digitalization. Yet we remain clear-eyed: there is more to do and some areas still require further progress.”

A “soft” performance in North America fell behind the rest of the group, with volume/mix down 0.5% despite double-digit growth in high-protein products.

Looking ahead, Danone said it expected LFL growth to stay within the range of 3%–5%, with recurring operating income growing faster than sales.

Danone said it had not identified any “material” financial impacts from its recall of infant formula in early 2026.