Danone acquires U.S. plant-based organic formula maker Kate Farms
Santa Barbara, California-based Kate Farms makes formulas and shakes for everyday needs as well as for tube feeding for people with health conditions.
Richard and Michelle Laver founded the company in 2012 after their daughter Kate, who has cerebral palsy, had difficulties with eating. Their products are sold to hospitals and consumers across the country.
'We consider Kate Farms very complementary to our specialized nutrition offerings and capabilities, which we believe will allow us to reach more consumers and patients and bring a high-quality new standard of care to more people with a wider variety of health needs,' Danone Group Deputy CEO Shane Grant said in an interview. 'It's a really important build for us in the U.S.'
The size of the majority stake and financial terms were not disclosed.
Paris-based Danone, which owns yogurt brand Activia, plant-based milk brand Silk and Evian water, signaled its interest in acquisitions after it reported strong 2024 earnings in February.
Kate Farms has previously raised money from investors such as Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Main Street Advisors. In 2022, it raised $75 million in a Series C growth capital round.
Kate Farms' senior management will retain a minority stake in the business, and its CEO, Brett Matthews, will serve as chairman and CEO of Danone's North American Medical Nutrition business.
Danone has been operating in the U.S. since 1942, and now has more than 5,000 U.S. employees and 13 U.S. manufacturing facilities and one research and development hub. It has a market value of about $57 billion.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Google expected to report $94bn in revenue after AI fuels second quarter
Google is expected to report earnings following the bell on Wednesday after closing out a quarter of AI-related momentum that has given investors reasons to be optimistic. Wall Street is expecting the search giant to report $2.18 in earnings per share (EPS) on $94bn in revenue. All eyes will be on how the company's various AI efforts and investments are faring as Google closes a quarter of considerable growth in the crowded space. Most recently, OpenAI announced it would add Google Cloud to its suite of cloud storage providers for ChatGPT. Analysts are also expecting a favorable outlook on general growing demand for Google's cloud services. 'The cloud business continues to benefit from robust enterprise demand, and the recent decision by OpenAI to run ChatGPT on Google Cloud – after relying primarily on Microsoft – is both symbolic and strategic,' Scott Acheychek, COO of Rex Financial, said in a statement. 'It speaks to scale. It speaks to speed. And it underscores how Alphabet's in-house AI stack is quietly turning into a competitive asset, winning business from names like Apple and Anthropic.' While analysts still expect the company to report positive results for the second quarter of the year, some are concerned about its recent series of antitrust losses. A judge in April found that the firm acted illegally to build a monopoly of some of its advertising technology. That follows an August ruling that found Google engaged in anticompetitive behavior to protect its search monopoly. They're also looking for updates on recent analyses and remarks that indicate Google searches have declined for the first time in 22 years. During Google's recent antitrust trial, for instance, the Apple senior vice-president of services Eddy Cue said Google searches in Safari had fallen for the first time in 22 years. He attributed that to the rise in the use of AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot for searches. Sign up to TechScape A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives after newsletter promotion 'Search remains the dominant cash engine – and a tension point,' Acheychek said. 'While OpenAI's ChatGPT is arguably a threat to Google's search business, it's also a customer. That duality sums up the moment. This isn't necessarily a winner-take-all race; it's a scramble to serve the exploding demand for generative tools, wherever they may live.' Google is also expected to give updates on its planned $75bn investment in building out its data center capacity to support its AI features such as its expansion of AI search results. 'It seems this is a necessary investment as the only factor limiting Google's growth is the constraints on computing that AI and cloud solutions need to run on,' said Brian Mulberry, senior portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management.
Telegraph
23 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Gen Z support for Trump collapses amid Epstein fallout
Young people have lost faith in Donald Trump, polling shows. The US president's approval rating among 18 to 29-year-olds fell from roughly even around the time of his inauguration in January to minus 40 by July, according to analysis of YouGov data by the pollster G Elliott Morris. Gen Z voters swung towards Mr Trump in last year's election, even though support for Republican candidates tends to lag among younger voters, but this has collapsed in the months since. Mr Trump is facing the biggest crisis of his second term over his handling of the Epstein files, with his administration refusing to make public all of its documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein, the paedophile financier, who died in 2019. By the US president's own account, he was friends with Epstein for about 15 years before they fell out in the early 2000s. The drop in support could be a hopeful sign for the Democrats, many of whom were panicked by Mr Trump's support among younger voters when he won last year's presidential election, almost equalling his opponent Kamala Harris for support among 18 to 29-year-olds. However, data appear to show that a drop in approval for Mr Trump is not necessarily translating to support for the Left-wing party, Axios reported. A separate poll for CBS News and YouGov published on Sunday showed 8 per cent of Democrats, 17 per cent of independents and 50 per cent of Republicans approved of Mr Trump's handling of the Epstein case. It also revealed widespread scepticism of his handling of the economy, with 36 per cent approving of his handling of inflation compared with almost two thirds against. Almost half believed Mr Trump's ' one big, beautiful bill ', which passed Congress last month, would hurt their family, compared with 25 per cent who believed it would help. The legislation extends tax cuts from the president's first term in 2017, but also cuts funding for Medicaid, which covers medical costs for low-income Americans, by trillions of dollars, despite Mr Trump's election pledge not to do so. However, the Democrats are hugely unpopular, failing to regroup following a series of shattering defeats in November's elections. Just 28 per cent had a favourable opinion of the party, according to a CNN poll conducted between July 10 and July 13, compared with 54 per cent who were unfavourable. This marks a small dip from shortly before Mr Trump's inauguration in January this year, when 33 per cent had a favourable opinion compared with 48 per cent who were unfavourable.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Dollar Tree restocks fan-favorite item that's so cheap, customers are buying it by the dozen
Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more Dollar Tree shoppers are flocking to stores to grab a fan‑favorite turquoise stoneware bowl that's being hailed as a bargain must‑have. The $1.50 bowl, available at most stores and online, has racked up near‑perfect reviews for its quality, design, and unbeatable value. Many fans are stocking up, with some ordering full sets of a dozen online for $18 so they can create full sets. 'I've had these bowls for about six years now, and I love them! They're easy and economical to add to or replace — I have the whole place setting,' one shopper raved. Another gushed: 'Ten years ago these would've sold in Pier One for $6–$8. 'They're gorgeous, the quality is exceptional, and nobody would guess you bought them at Dollar Tree.' Others insisted the bowl's 'beautiful color' won them over and were purchased because they can be used to 'dress up or dress down.' Some longtime fans bragged about snagging them at the old $1–$1.25 price before the chain raised starting prices to $1.50. Dollar Tree is famous for its high-quality, low-cost products and dupes available to purchase at its 16,500+ stores. It's also highly competitive with other chains and recently declared war on Walmart over its popular summer essentials. Items that fall under Dollar Tree's summer essentials this year include aviator sunglasses, swim goggles and party decorations. Dollar Tree has put up a strong fight in shopping wars and dealt with competitors like Amazon and Dollar General. The potential to score big during the Amazon Prime Day event looked promising after its day-one sales slump. However, the e-commerce giant still managed to get record sales. Its decision to sell Family Dollar to private equity investors could also be a game changer for them in the retail game. The $1 billion deal was finalized 10 years after the company purchased Family Dollar for roughly $9 billion. With this sale, things are up in the air for the brand, which already shuttered hundreds of stores last year. Dollar Tree is famous for offering high-quality, low-cost products at its 16,500+ stores The loss of Family Dollar stores did not damage Dollar Tree's earnings. In fact, the company was more than capable of exceeding expectations without the brand's help. The retailer opened 148 stores and experienced a 11.7 percent increase in net sales to $1.6 billion during this year's first quarter. With these results, the company is expecting to finish the year with net sales ranging between $18.5 and $19.1 billion. Dollar Tree is expected to release its second quarter results on September 3.
