Danone has announced that one of its dairy factories will be converted to a plant-based environment in order to produce Alpro plant-milks.
The facility is in Villecomtal-sur-Arros, France, and is part of a €43 million ($49 million) investment plan to increase production.
It comes four years after Alpro was purchased by the company.
Danone is looking into plant-based production.
Danone, widely regarded as the world’s largest yogurt producer, will now use its French facility to produce primarily oat milk.
According to Reuters, construction will begin in 2022. And it comes after the company revealed that the market for plant-based products in France has tripled in seven years and is expected to increase by 50% by 2025.
Alpro will begin plant milk production in the facility in 2023.
It comes just a month after Danone announced plans to invest millions of euros in one of its UK factories to produce 300 million liters of plant milk per year.
Alpro has owned the factory for over 20 years, but thanks to increased investment, Danone has invested £17 million in “state-of-the-art” equipment.
Facilities aimed at reducing energy, water, and CO2 usage are included in the plans.
Alpro
The modifications will be made to the company’s factory in Kettering, where products are manufactured for customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
According to general manager Sue Garfitt, the company has“blazing a trail in sustainable production for more than 40 years.” And, by 2022, Alpro hopes to have increased its annual production to a staggering 400 million liters.
“The changes we are installing will not only accelerate the volume of products we are producing in the UK, for UK shoppers.
“But, will also allow us to keep ahead of the curve and continue being the brand to fuel the category growth.
“And, whet the nation’s appetite for delicious and healthy plant-based products, and of course, doing this whilst operating in a planet-friendly way,” Garfitt elaborated in a statement.
