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Danone has inaugurated a new medical nutrition production line at its Steenvoorde site in northern France, as part of a €70 million investment designed to expand the facility’s capabilities in specialised nutrition.
The investment positions Steenvoorde as a European hub combining medical nutrition, infant formula and speciality dairy ingredient production, with the site using advanced filtration technologies to manufacture ingredients for specialised nutrition applications.
The new production line, which was announced in 2024, is Danone’s largest medical nutrition production line in France. It will have the capacity to produce nearly 20 million litres of oral nutritional supplements annually, including almost 150 Fortimel product references.
Alongside finished specialised nutrition products, Steenvoorde has developed expertise in producing dairy ingredients through advanced filtration technologies.
Danone said the site has a “unique industrial expertise” in producing ingredients used in specialised nutrition products, with many of these ingredients also manufactured at Steenvoorde.
The combination of ingredient production and finished-product manufacturing gives the facility a broader role within Danone’s specialised nutrition network, linking dairy processing technologies with applications designed for specific nutritional requirements.
The site brings together three strategic manufacturing activities: infant formula, medical nutrition and specialty dairy ingredients. Its capabilities are intended to support the development of specialised nutrition products across different stages of life.
The expansion will also see Steenvoorde produce part of Danone’s Fortimel range of oral nutritional supplements. The range includes different formats, textures and recipes, including plant-based alternatives, to address varying nutritional needs and consumer preferences.
Danone’s investment comes as the company seeks to expand its medical nutrition activities against a backdrop of population ageing and increasing chronic disease.
According to the company, the number of people aged over 60 is expected to double by 2050, while disease-related malnutrition currently affects between 30% and 50% of hospitalised patients, citing WHO Europe.
Danone said medical nutrition is a key pillar of its Renew Danone strategy, with the group aiming to strengthen production capabilities and scientific expertise as nutritional requirements evolve.
Danone described the new medical nutrition line as the largest medical nutrition production line in France in terms of both production capacity and size.
The €70 million project also included the installation of a biomass boiler, inaugurated in February 2026, which Danone said is helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the Steenvoorde site.
The investment is part of a wider programme of more than €600 million that Danone plans to invest across its French sites between 2021 and 2027.
Steenvoorde is located in the Hauts-de-France region, an established dairy-producing area in France. Danone said the site works with more than 400 partner farms, while regional milk collection has increased sixfold over the past four years.
