Recent discussions with Danone executives Bruno Chevot, President of Danone China, North Asia & Oceania, and Isabelle Esser, Chief Human Resources, R&D Innovation, Quality & Food Safety Officer, revealed insights into how this renowned multinational food and beverage company is building its global innovation network ecosystem. The conversations explored how digital technology supports food R&D innovation, the business opportunities and challenges in gut health, and strategic arrangements for the Chinese market.
On September 29, Danone's OneBiome laboratory in Paris-Saclay was officially launched. The laboratory will drive the development of precision nutrition solutions through advanced microbiology, artificial intelligence, and data science, marking a new phase for the company in gut microbiome research and further exploring the relationship between diet and health.
Danone Group CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique unveiled the laboratory, stating that its launch represents a milestone in the new chapter of the "Renew Danone" strategy. It will further strengthen Danone's capabilities in gut microbiome research and consolidate the group's leadership position in science-driven health innovation.
"Research networks are crucial for scientific research. We have a global R&D center in Paris-Saclay and collaborate with numerous R&D centers worldwide. In July 2020, we invested in establishing the Danone Open Research Center in Shanghai, combining global scientific achievements with local insights to drive innovation implementation in different markets," Chevot explained.
He acknowledged that China has always been and will continue to be an indispensable market for Danone, hoping that Danone can make positive contributions to the vision of "Healthy China" and "Beautiful China."
**Gut Health Becomes Global Priority**
In recent years, gut microbiome science has developed rapidly, with sustained interest in gut health from both the scientific community and the public. Data shows that the global market size for gut health and gut microbiome-related products has reached $126 billion.
Despite this, a survey conducted by IFOP in June 2025 showed that half of respondents still consider their gut microbiome unhealthy, with 80% experiencing digestive discomfort symptoms. This indicates urgent needs for education and innovation, harboring tremendous development opportunities.
"China is facing population aging, and nutrition plays a key role in addressing health challenges brought by aging. We utilize OneBiome's scientific research to innovatively launch 'Danone Probiotics,' helping people over 50 improve gut health through unique combinations of prebiotics and probiotics. This is a typical case of combining global science with local insights to ensure products align well with local nutritional habits," Chevot explained.
Isabelle Esser added, "Danone has over a century of history in gut microbiome research, dating back to the first yogurt launched in 1990, which used strains from the Pasteur Institute. About 15 years ago, we established the D-lab digital laboratory in Singapore, focusing on gut microbiome research in infant and early life nutrition fields." The current Paris-Saclay BioBiome laboratory is also based on the experience of Singapore's OneBiome laboratory in early life research.
Esser emphasized that laboratories need to be close to fermentation strain libraries and collaborate with global R&D centers and universities. The goal is to understand the relationship between gut microbiome, diet, and genes, and develop health prediction models.
"We have already done extensive work. Next, we hope to further leverage these achievements throughout a person's entire life cycle—whether in healthy or disease states—and go even further," Esser said.
"We have been driving Chinese local innovation through global scientific research," Chevot believes that scientific achievements need to be transformed into products that adapt to local consumption habits through different food forms. "It's worth mentioning that global scientific research brings us innovative inspiration, and once products are launched, we conduct real-world evidence-based research to continuously monitor the health impact of products in actual life. We chose to first launch new products in China because large-scale application can be achieved here, obtaining extensive local insights to further validate the actual effects of global scientific achievements locally and drive the transformation of global scientific research into innovative products."
**China's Digital Ecosystem Supports Global Digital Innovation**
Chevot pointed out that Danone's global R&D system relies on algorithms and large-scale research, with China being one of the earliest markets to transform scientific research results into applications for consumers and medical professionals. China's unique digital ecosystem enables scientific research to truly serve consumers and patients.
Isabelle Esser gave an example: in Singapore, Danone developed the "Golden Poop Decoder." Parents only need to photograph their baby's stool, and through clinically validated digital tools, they can determine whether the baby's gut microbiome is healthy and its relationship with feeding methods. There's also the "Growth Curve Tracker," which uses digital tools to precisely measure infant and toddler growth and development.
"This is also related to diet and gut microbiome. Through digital tools, we can discover connections between various links," Isabelle Esser said.
In Chevot's view, the "Golden Poop Decoder" uses algorithms developed by the Singapore laboratory, while all interfaces for consumers and medical health professionals are designed in China because China has a unique digital innovation environment.
"The Chinese market can generate massive amounts of data, driving AI model optimization. Chinese consumers accept new things much faster than other markets, enabling rapid iteration and launch of minimum viable products (MVP). Very few markets globally have advantages in ecosystem, scale, and speed simultaneously."
"For digitalization and user interface innovation, there's no better place than China, where scientific achievements can truly enter consumers' lives," Chevot candidly stated.
**China Will Always Be an Indispensable Market for Danone**
Over the past 25 years, Chevot has worked outside France, spending most of his career in Asia, with the past 15 years specifically in China. Regarding the importance of the Chinese market, Chevot openly stated: "China has always been and will continue to be an indispensable market for Danone. Not only because of China's large market size, but also because of its unique and innovation-vibrant ecosystem."
"What most inspires me about the Chinese team is that they always face the future positively, enthusiastically embracing every challenge and opportunity. They always see opportunities first, not difficulties first. This spirit of going all out might be one of the most unique characteristics of China's business environment and Chinese teams. These are all reasons why I remain passionate," Chevot concluded.
"I hope that whether in China or other markets, Danone can help people achieve lifelong health by providing high-quality health solutions, help infants and toddlers have healthy growth trajectories, contribute to creating better business and planetary environments, and also make positive contributions to realizing the vision of Healthy and Beautiful China," Chevot stated.
Comments