Stonyfield Owner Conquers the Yogurt World

"The Danone Group has enjoyed great success by selling French yogurt to Americans. Now the company is turning to an American to introduce organic yogurts in Europe, starting in France, a country that does not normally look across the Atlantic for culinary advice.

..But at the insistence of Danone's chairman and chief executive, Franck Riboud, [Gary] Hirshberg introduced a line of products in September that are meant to tap into the growing demand for organic food in France, particularly in urban markets. The yogurt, called "Les 2 Vaches des Fermiers du Bio" ("the two cows of organic farmers"), comes with chatty cartoon cows on the packages and a Web site full of thoughts about planetary health.

..The French eat four times as much yogurt as Americans, and the market for organic food is growing rapidly in the European Union, from $12.8 billion in 2005 to an estimated $31.9 billion by 2010, Hirshberg said.

..For Hirshberg, the next stop after France is England, which has a more established organic industry. There, he will introduce a brand called "Stony: Yogurt on a Mission." Stonyfield has also invested in an Irish organic dairy, Glenisk, that will introduce a new look and recipe in June."

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Talk about expanding!