Danone, the French food company which employs more than 700 people in Ireland, has announced a 2.7% growth in sales in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026.

The company reported €6.7 billion in sales for the first quarter of the year.

Danone said its first quarter sales growth was mainly due to higher volumes and an improved product mix.

An increase in volumes of 1.5%, complemented by price increases of 1.2% helped Danone to achieve this result.

The company stated its performance was “resilient” in key markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, amid the impact of an infant milk formula recall and the current conflict in the Middle East.

Danone is expecting its like-for-like sales growth to be between +3% and +5% this year, with its recurring operating income growing faster than sales.

Danone chief executive, Antoine de Saint-Affrique said: “This first quarter demonstrated again the resilience, strength and relevance of our health-focused portfolio: against a challenging backdrop, we delivered a solid performance.

“Our winning platforms continued to perform strongly, notably in dairy with high protein, skyr, and kefir, in Waters with Evian and Mizone, as well as in medical nutrition around the globe.

"In a world that remains volatile and uncertain, we stay disciplined and fully focused on executing on our Renew strategy.”

Diversifying

The chief executive stated that Danone accelerated its transformation with the signing of two transactions that will further strengthen its portfolio.

On March 23 this year, Danone announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Huel, which it called a “leading player” in nutritionally balanced meal solutions.

The company stated that the acquisition will “enhance Danone’s presence in functional nutrition and extend its portfolio into the fast-growing Complete Nutrition space.”

The following day, on March 24, Danone also shared a “new chapter in its strategic alliance with Arcor” to create an “integrated dairy player to deliver greater and faster growth and innovation in Argentina”.

Infant formula disruption

On January 23 this year, Danone announced a “targeted recall of specific infant formula batches.”

In a press release ahead of the Q1 2026 results, Danone said: “In light of the sector situation, the requirements of national food safety authorities continue to evolve.

“As a responsible manufacturer and to abide by this ongoing evolution, Danone has been recalling, from relevant markets, batches of infant formula products.

“The recall of several industry players at the same time created, especially in European retailers, some disruption on the shelf because some retailers were first taking off all the products before sorting and replenishing the shelf.”

Danone expected that supply disruption to have a “one-off” impact between 0.5% to 1% of net sales in the first quarter.

Commenting on the impact, Danone said: “The other dimension of the impact is that [the] salesforce is busy managing the recalls, managing the shelves and not doing anything else.

“So, the teams at Danone and our partners in distribution have done an amazing job, but it’s a disturbance.”

Global performance

As part of its Q1 2026 report, Danone reported mixed regional performance.

Growth in Europe was modest with sales increasing by +0.4%, as price increases offset lower volumes.

Essential Dairy and Plant-based products (EDP) delivered “sustained momentum” across the region, driven by Danone, Activia, Alpro, and High Protein.  

The Americas saw stronger gains of +3.4% in sales driven by higher demand.

In the US, STōK (Danone’s ready-to-drink coffee brand) "continued to perform strongly while coffee creamers are progressively improving" in the region.

Asia-Pacific was the standout region for Danone, with sales increasing by +6%. Growth was led by a rise in volumes, particularly in China and North Asia with growth in sales of +10.3%.

Irish operations

Danone's site in Macroom, Co. Cork is one of the two biggest supply points in the entire Danone network.

Operating on a 24/7 basis, infant formula base powder is produced at this site and supplied to other supply points across Ireland, Europe and further afield to China, Indonesia, Brazil, and Argentina.

They are produced in Macroom, and then finished and packaged in Wexford.

The Wexford site is one of Danone's "biggest manufacturing plants in its specialised nutrition network."

It is a "centre of excellence" for packaging capabilities and Europe’s largest infant formula packing plant.

Brands like Aptamil, Nutrilion and Cow & Gate are produced at this plant and are exported to over 50 countries around the world.