Danone has invested €15m ($15.8m) in expanding its medical nutrition product factory in Turkey.
The factory in Lüleburgaz, Turkey, which is run by Nutricia, a subsidiary of Danone based in the Netherlands, has added a new production line for its Fortinel and Fortini brands. These brands offer nutrition powders and children’s nutrition drinks for patients with special medical needs or malnutrition.
A spokesperson from Danone explained that these products are oral nutritional supplements used by healthcare professionals to support patients of all ages who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition due to conditions like frailty, cerebral palsy, cancer, or stroke. The customers for these products are hospitals, pharmacies, and other healthcare organizations.
Danone operates six factories in Turkey, with the Lüleburgaz facility, which started in 2004, producing not only these medical nutrition products but also dairy products like yogurt, milk desserts, and dairy snacks for the local market.
The spokesperson stated that the Lüleburgaz factory is the first hybrid factory in Danone’s manufacturing network to produce both medical nutrition and fresh dairy products.
This investment in Turkey follows a similar one made by Danone in Poland, where €50m was spent to add a production line for enteral nutrition products at its Opole plant. This plant already manufactures infant formula and baby food.
Danone’s medical nutrition business is part of its specialized nutrition division, which also includes products for infants. Medical nutrition products account for approximately 40% of the division’s sales and 30% of Danone’s total revenues. The division saw a 10% growth in revenues in 2022.
In the first half of 2023, Danone’s specialized nutrition sales reached €4.25bn, representing a 5.5% year-on-year increase or an 8.3% increase on a like-for-like basis. The division’s “volume/mix” increased by 1.7%.
