PARIS (Reuters) - France's Danone, the world's largest yoghurt maker, plans to switch one of its big French factories to plant-based drinks next year in a bet on fast-growing non-dairy milk alternatives.
Danone said in a statement on Wednesday it will invest 43 million euros ($49 million) in 2022 to convert its Villecomtal-sur-Arros dairy plant in southern France into a production site of mainly oat-based drinks for its Alpro brand.
This follows a 16.5 million euro investment this year in its Alpro plant in Issenheim, eastern France.
Danone, owner of the Evian water and Activia yoghurt brands, said the French market for plant-based foods has tripled in seven years and should grow another 50% by 2025.
"We observe consumers' interest in plant-based recipes, which are a simple solution for those who want a more varied and diversified diet," Danone France's Fran??ois Eyraud said.
The factory will be converted in the autumn of 2022 and make its first Alpro-branded drinks from the second quarter of 2023.
Danone acquired Alpro in 2017 via its $12.5 billion acquisition of U.S. organic food producer WhiteWave as it tried to capitalise on healthier eating trends here.
In February, Danone agreed to buy U.S. plant-based foods specialist Earth Island here, in a deal that would help it reach a target of generating 5 billion euros ($6.1 billion) of plant-based sales worldwide by 2025.
($1 = 0.8839 euros)
Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Alexander Smith