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Danone has announced plans to invest €50 million to expand its facility in Opole, Poland, to create a new medical nutrition production line. According to the French company, the expansion coincides with macro trends that indicate "a growing demand for the category as populations continue to age and the rate of chronic diseases increases". The new production line will cover 7,000 square meters of additional space. The Opole production plant is said to be one of the largest Danone factories in Europe, covering a total area of almost 13 hectares and employing 700 people. It currently manufactures baby formula and baby food products, such as Bebilon, Bebiko and Bobovita. Specialised nutrition – which includes medical nutrition – comprises 30% of Danone's overall revenue. This investment signifies another step forward against the Renew Danone strategy, aimed at fostering growth across its product lines. Notably, Danone is committed to expanding its medical nutrition offerings, with the goal of reaching an increasing number of patients.

The production line will cater to patients who rely on feeding tubes due to their inability to swallow or consume liquids normally. Opole will become Danone's second European facility to manufacture the company's enteral nutrition range, Nutrison. Antoine de Saint-Affrique, Danone CEO, said: “Our long-standing patient-centric approach is at the heart of our specialised nutrition strategy. The line expansion we’re making into the Opole plant will accelerate our innovation within adult medical nutrition, expanding on our 100 years of expertise in the medical nutrition field. The investment will result in more agility in our supply chain, via our existing factories, meaning we can serve more patients, better, locally, while also delivering on our mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible. This expansion is the latest example of our Renew Danone strategy in action, as we invest to get ahead of evolving health needs and develop our adult nutrition activities.”