To tap into the potential in the dairy business in the country, French foods giant Groupe Danone is in talks with Dynamix Dairy Industries (DDIL), say industry sources.
US-based Schreiber Foods Inc. has 51 per cent stake in Dynamix. Schreiber is one of the largest private label cheese companies in the United States, with clients like McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, Sysco, Albertson’s, Burger King and American Stores.
Danone after parting from Nusli Wadia Group is aiming a solo entry into the country. After the split Danone and Wadias had equal stakes in domestic biscuit major Britannia Industries.
Incidentally, Britannia also has an association with Dynamix for its dairy business. KM Goenka, who promoted Dynamix dairy, had sold the majority stake to the US-based Schreiber foods in May 2004.
Dynamix Dairy Industries at Baramati, Maharashtra, is a fully integrated dairy company with processing capacity of 500,000 litres of cow milk per day. The products produced include cheese, butter, ghee, dairy whitener, SMP, WMP, lactose, casein, whey protein concentrate, whey powder, baby food and UHT products. This is not the first time Danone officials are visiting dairy majors in the country.
Earlier, Danone COO Jacques Vincent had met with Amul officials. Unconfirmed reports in the past have also linked Danone to Hyderabad-headquartered Heritage Dairy. Sources say that Danone’s strong R&D has already forged ties with Mysore-based CFTRI, even though the exact agreement is not yet known.
