Mumbai, Sept 30:

The French dairy giant Danone, which had earlier this year acquired the nutrition business of the city-based drug firm Wockhardt, plans to double the business in three to four years, a top company official has said.

The French firm had acquired the nutrition business of Wockhardt for a consideration of Rs 1,280 crore, paving the way for its entry into the domestic baby and medical nutrition market and the new entity was named Nutricia International.

The domestic baby nutrition and medical nutrition is a Rs 300-crore business and is growing at 15-20 per cent. We should grow faster than the market rate. We should be able to double our business in three to four years, Danone Group firm Nutricia International managing director Laurent Marcel told PTI on the sidelines of an industry event here.

Danone acquired Wockhardts various brands under its nutrition business, including Farex, Protinex, Dexolac and Nusobee, apart from related industrial operations from Carol Info Services based in Punjab.

Asked if the company would launch its global brands in the baby nutrition business here, Marcel said, We will leverage on the existing brands in the first phase, as we want to leverage the strengths of Wockhardts brands and understand the market better.

We will see when it is a good time to bring in new brands. This is a strategic roadmap that takes some time for implementation. Danone sells its baby nutrition products in 137 countries with a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for around 40 per cent of its volumes.

Its baby nutrition brands include Milupa, Bledina, Gallia, Aptamil, SGM and Dumex among others.

Keywords: French dairy company Danone,acquired,nutrition business,Wockhardt,double business,French firm,entry,domestic baby,medical nutrition,market,new entity,Nutricia International,Danone Group firm Nutricia International managing director Laurent Marcel,

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Danone seeks to double nutrition business in 3-4 years