Danone’s 100-Year Mission to Redefine Health Through Food 🌱 | Ayla Ziz Interview at CGF 2025

Hello, everyone, welcome.

This is OmniTalk Retail live from the Consumer Goods Forum in Amsterdam.

I'm Anne Mazinga.

And I'm Chris Walton.

And we are coming to you live once again from the Vusion Group booth here at the Consumer Goods Forum conference.

And standing between us, Chris and I are so lucky.

We get to have the chief commercial and customer officer at Danone, Aila Z.

Welcome and thank you so much for joining us today.

Aila, thank you for having me.

Yeah, so let's get started off by this now, Danone's been.

You guys have been around for a long time, right?

Like 1919, is that right?

I was doing my research today and so you guys have been around for over 100 years, I guess.

So what is it?

How do you guys keep pace with the changing consumer needs, the changing consumer over that period of time, especially in today's digital age?

Well, thank you for allowing me to give me that opportunity actually to talk about Danone.

Yes, we were born 1919 and guess what?

What?

We were born in Barcelona.

The first yogurt ever was done in Barcelona by Mr.

Isa Carrasso.

And the reason for this, it was his son, Danny.

Danone was sick, actually was having gut problems.

And he was inspired by work done by a Nobel Prize about immunity and how yogurt can improve your health.

And so he developed the first yogurt ever and it was sold in pharmacies.

So really the essence of what we do is to answer consumer needs, to understand what's going in the market, sometimes even to anticipate consumer needs and to come with the right products.

Our mission is bring health through food to as many as possible.

So that really what our founder mission was to help his son translates now in everything we do.

So we have reworked all our portfolio.

You think about danone in the 50s or 60s, we used to have beer, we used to have biscuits.

We have refocused completely our portfolio around the health because this is really what we want.

Maybe a bit visionary, I would say.

Our founders so really refocusing about health and becoming completely the essence of what we do.

So we stick to one health, one planet.

We see that consumers now are so much focusing on their health and how can they contribute positively to the planet as well.

So everything you will see coming out of Dadan comes from there.

So we see a lot of trends.

For instance, the protein to have children yourself.

Yes, we do, we do.

So I'm sure some of your kids might add protein to their diet or are very health conscious.

And what we see, I'D love to.

Get more protein in my kids diet.

Actually I'd love mine as well because I can see it's healthy aging.

Actually it helps a lot.

So what you see is this protein, it's super important and we know that it contributes to healthy aging.

So we are developing a lot of, across all our brands, a range of products that answers consumer needs.

And you see it, whether it's a drinkable, it's a yogurt, it's plant based or it's dairy, it translates in everything we do.

So that's one example of what we do to really make sure that we're answering consumer needs, we're anticipating them with our portfolio and everything we need.

But it is really ingrained in your DNA.

That's the part of the story.

I didn't know that you were once selling alcohol, but now it's like no, not going to work for us given the mission of the company.

Yeah.

And if you look at the ranking of ATNI, we have 88% of our volume that are ranked as healthy.

Right.

Like with, with a star rating over 3.5.

So the, our products, of course we have a part that is more indulgence, but it's more for the well being as well.

But if you think about overall portfolio, it's amazingly focused on our mission.

Well, I, I wonder, do you think that that's because the success that you've had, the sustainable growth that you've seen as a company over the last hundred plus years, do you think that's because you really picked a focus area or a theme to kind of center your company and everything that your company is doing around, do you think that's what's helped you stay sustainable and continue that growth?

For sure.

And obviously it's not enough.

You have the right offer, so that's great.

Now how do you make sure that consumers understand it, that you're executing it right on shelf?

But equally how do you sustain innovation?

Because if you came with the same product or portfolio that we used to have 56 years ago, we wouldn't be as successful as we are are today.

So, so you need to keep that pace of surprising innovating, creating new segments.

I mean if you think about plant based and Alpro in Europe, we created this segment from scratch.

Right, Right.

So.

So you need to, you can't be complacent in our today's markets.

So do you have any suggestions or even like success or failure stories of how you've done that in your role at Danone?

So that like any Tactics that you'd share with the audience for how to keep.

Keep forcing your companies or your organizations to keep innovating like that.

Well, first, I don't like the word failure.

That does not exist.

Okay.

So you learn.

It's experiences where we learned and we grew up.

So it wasn't this smooth journey where we went from, you know, pace, you know, we grew 5, 10%.

5%?

Well, 5.

I wish it was 10.

Right.

But let's say we grew, you know, CAGR and no problem.

It's not right.

Well, we had some period where it was tough, tougher.

And when my advice, if I may, it's to be as close as you can to your consumer and to your shopper.

Right.

We sometimes we ignore the shopper.

So really in store, the moment of truth, you know, when you are facing the customer and they have the choice around.

They have three, four products.

Which one are they picking?

How would you make sure that they're picking the Danone product and they're not picking it yogurt, they're picking it Danone yogurt.

Right.

So that moment is super important.

You keep the focus on it.

So is there like I think a lot of companies are.

It's true, they get that information, they look at focus group data.

But is there something that you do with your organization at Denone to really get in and really get those insights from the consumer?

To get consumer insights to the customer like you're saying?

Yeah.

And I mean for me one area is to make sure you keep your finger on the rhythm.

Yeah.

What is going on?

So to feel any small signal go deeper.

Okay.

Do not ignore it because might be just the peak of the iceberg and there's a massive opportunity behind it.

And then in today's world, you asked me the question earlier, how do we evolve in this digital world?

That's what I was going to go.

Next is going at such a fast pace.

Right.

It's crazy.

So how do you keep that rhythm?

I think, I mean it's a transformational journey.

You have always to reinvent yourself.

Right.

Right.

So I can give you one example of excellence in execution that we're doing for our field Salesforce in Europe.

We are digitalizing the whole Salesforce.

We're equipping them with AI supported tool to get the data from the consumer.

What is happening in the shelf?

How much are we selling?

Are we really sticking to where, how the shelves should be?

And the better we are in answering consumer needs faster.

We are in terms of adapting ourselves to the segmentation in every shelf.

You know, like then the consumer, in these three seconds that they're spending to pick your product, they pick yours.

Well, I want to pressure on that too, because, you know, so much of the initial acclimation towards a brand or the new introduction to a brand also happens online, so it's not also on the shelf.

So, you know, you mentioned, you know, the digitization that's at play here.

How do you think about things or how have you had to adapt what you do differently to show up for the customer and in the digital space particularly too, for sure.

And we've heard this morning, I think it was mentioned, that one third of our consumers go and look online before going in store and buying.

Well, luckily they don't do it every time they buy yogurt.

Right.

Maybe more for some products than others.

But my point is that it's becoming seamless.

Right, Right.

It's whether it's online or offline, whether it's on your WhatsApp application or what is in your Facebook or Twitter or TikTok, consumers are going across all these channels.

I mean, look at ourselves.

We go across all these channels.

Right.

So how do you make sure first your message is consistent across all the different tools and that you are relevant in every occasion?

So when you are on the go or when you are in a train station or where you are in a restaurant, your mindset as a consumer is completely different.

So our work as a brand and in sales is how do we make sure that you are really answering the consumer needs at this specific occasion?

How do I make sure that you drink, you have Alpro milk and your cereals in the morning, or when you have a Skyr in the morning with your cereal?

It's a Danone skier.

Right.

That's for breakfast occasion.

And then I do the same for restaurant.

I can tell you every occasion.

I'd love to see your analysis of what consumer segment I fit into.

Yes, 100%.

100%.

Well, let's close with this question.

One of the greatest parts of your job, I assume, is that you also are a consumer of the skyr, of the yogurt, of all the things.

Tell me a little bit about how people in the Denone organization are really core to the success that you've had.

Like, what role do you make sure that your colleagues play in making sure that you're serving the consumer as best you can?

Well, I can tell you one thing.

You know, it's been five years.

I'm in Danone now.

And one thing I was shocked at the beginning, but I fully understand now is how proud dine owners are of doing the job they're doing and serving a company that has a purpose that's beyond us.

You know, like, you know that every time you sell something, you make this word a bit healthier and there's nothing better, right.

Than to feel like you're really serving a purpose when you work.

Yeah.

So maybe that's one part of the answer to your question.

That's a great answer.

And then for sure we're proud of the products.

We tried them all the time.

We what we know as well and research hopefully will demonstrate that as well is that if you eat yogurt a day actually.

And it's back it up a little bit thinking about the science we have behind us.

Because what makes Danone unique, we talked about health through food to as many as possible, which our mission.

Right.

So we are unique.

A unique CPG that has so many healthy products.

Our brands and categories, we are operating on a growing categories, right.

I mean, you ask Gen Z's today, they all like, you know, health, wellness, etc.

So we are operating on volume and value.

And the last point is how much we are basing everything we do on science.

You know, we do.

People might not know it, but we do intern on products that we call specialized nutrition that are dedicated for people who for example, do following an oncological treatment.

Right.

They are frail, they're fatigued.

So how do you make sure that they recover muscles?

High protein or they were on the GLP1 treatment and they need to recover their muscles.

Right.

So we have super specialized products.

We have even souvenir that I should take because it improves your memory.

Right.

After 50 years old.

And actually it's preventative for Alzheimer's.

So I certainly should take it every day.

But my point is we take it.

We have super specialized products and what we try to do is out of these products, how do we take this science and bring it to the mass market?

Right.

And there's.

Honestly, I mean, I'm very proud of what we have been doing and how we are providing the support making this planet a better place.

Yeah.

So I got one more question for you, but I lost my train of thought.

No, just kidding.

So cgf, we gotta give.

We gotta.

We're at the conference.

Have you been here before?

Oh, yes, yes.

How many times roughly do you lost count?

I'm too old to tell you.

Too old to tell me.

All right, all right.

But at least 10.

At least 10.

Wow.

All right, very nice.

We've got an expert here.

So what's one piece of advice you'd be for the audience here at the Consumer Goods Forum?

Oh, I don't know if I are giving advice, but I think we cannot transfer this planet alone.

And the reason why I love being at the Consumer Goods Forum and I am also co chairing one of the coalition that's Healthier Lives Coalition is that promotes healthier and more sustainable lives across the industry.

Because I believe we cannot move the needle unless we work at it hands in hand between retailers and manufacturers.

So I would encourage everyone in the industry to join forces and no matter, you know, I told you, it's my showing off.

We have 88% of our portfolio that is healthy.

Not at all.

We would love everyone to bring it up.

Right.

Why?

Because if to be that, to be at that level, it requires a lot of investments.

Right.

So I don't want to be non competitive versus my competitors.

Right.

I want to spend this money to sustain our planet, to stain my business, but at the same time engage all the others with us.

And I think if there is one message is collaborate, engage, contribute and deliver.

Right.

Because that also means coordination and definition of standards too.

Right.

That you can all use and operate within.

Absolutely.

And it's no point of, you know, it's not about imposing, it's about co creation.

Yeah.

And giving all of your, all of the people working in the industry a little more purpose too to what they're doing every day as well, based on the 80% of products that they're helping make the world healthier.

Well, Aila Z, thank you so much for taking the time with us today.

Thank you again to Vuzion Group for helping make all of our coverage here at Consumer Goods Forum possible.

And stay tuned, we have so much more coming up for you later on today.

And until then, be careful out there.