Grameen Danone Foods Ltd

Grameen Danone Foods Ltd. (GDFL) is danone.communities’ founding project. The first in a series of social business initiatives, it grew out of a meeting between two men who realized that both of their businesses had the same goal -- fighting world poverty.

L'histoire du projet

It all began with the meeting in November 2005 between Franck Riboud, CEO of Groupe Danone, and Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and later winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
The two men discussed at length their ideas and their respective convictions concerning the development of poor countries and discovered that their areas of expertise were complementary. They then decided to create a joint venture called “Grameen Danone Foods”.
This company took on an original project : to create a yogurt factory in Bangladesh whose mission was to contribute to local development.

Grameen Danone Foods, a company dedicated to the development of its environment

Grameen Danone Foods is guided by four objectives :

1 – To develop a product that has high nutritional value and is affordable for the poorest individuals :
- “Shokti Doi” yogurt (“that which builds strength” in Bengali) was developed according to the nutritional needs of Bangladeshi children with the help of nutritionists from the “GAIN” NGO.
- It is fortified with nutrients (including vitamin A, zinc and iodine) to make up for the dietary deficiencies of the local populations.
- Shokti Doi is sold for 6 euro cents, a price that studies found to be affordable for the poorest families.

2 – To improve the community’s living conditions by creating jobs that raise the living standard and enhance the social fabric and the region.

3 – To protect the environment and conserve resources

4 – To ensure a sustainable activity while seeking profitability

To achieve these objectives, Grameen Danone Foods has adopted a development model that runs counter to that of large western companies :

- Grameen Danone Foods’ primary aim is to have a positive social impact ; its pursuit of profitability is based solely on criteria such as improving public health, creating jobs, reducing poverty and protecting the environment.

- Profits earned by the company are re-invested in expanding and running the business.