Danone invests $25m to expand Ghanaian subsidiary Fan Milk

ACCRA - Danone has announced investment worth $25 million in its subsidiary in Ghana, adding three new production lines to its factory in the capital Accra.

The investment will allow Fan Milk ‘to sustain growing demand for dairy products’ in West Africa, Danone said.  The factory expansion will be used to support the rollout of FanMaxx, a new ‘creamy drinkable yogurt’ that will be available to Ghanaian consumers in June. The yogurt is a source of calcium and enriched with vitamins, Danone said, with a creamy texture that makes it filling enough to be a light meal replacer. It can be consumed chilled or ambient and has a long-shelf life of four months.

“This is the result of two years’ work, combining Abraaj’s intimate knowledge of West Africa and Danone’s leading expertise of the dairy category in a highly cooperative and fruitful collaboration. Fan Milk’s growth has been strong for the past few years and we believe there is potential for dramatically expanding its footprint by exploring yet untapped sources of growth, including the drinkable yogurt category. We are today launching [this product] in Ghana, but this is only a first step towards West Africa”. Says Pierre-André Térisse, executive vice-president access, Africa for Danone and non-executive chairman of Fan Milk.