Danone invests in French baby food start-up Yooji

Simon Harvey

French dairy giant Danone has invested in organic baby food start-up Yooji.

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The deal initiated by the company’s investment unit Danone Manifesto Ventures (DMV) was completed in collaboration with Bledina, the Danone-owned brand focused on the French infant nutrition market.

The dairy firm said today (28 September) that it teamed up with Yooji’s shareholders as part of its capital raising – Caravelle, a family-owned diversified industrial group, and Capagro, a French venture capital fund in agriculture and food innovation.

DMV did not disclose any details of the deal beyond saying it had become a shareholder. Financial details were not disclosed.

Yooji’s products are sourced from organic farms and cooked with 100% natural ingredients, without salt or additives, and are sold in more than 600 stores throughout France. The company, which was founded in 2012 and is focused on providing frozen portion-sized organic meals, will continue to operate independently and development will remain in the hands of the existing management team.

DMV is a corporate venture capital unit financed by its parent company and launched in 2016. Its directive is to focus on supporting the development of innovative companies with high-growth potential that share its vision of “alimentation”.

The Yooji investment is the fund’s fourth in a year – Michel & Augustin in France, and Farmers Fridge and Accel Foods in the US.