Inclusivity and belonging are inherent to Danone's mission of bringing health through food to as many people as possible. Throughout February, our Danoners have celebrated Black History Month in various ways including weekly programs hosted by our BOLD employee resource group, which supports inclusive diversity through recruiting, connecting and developing Black employees and leaders. We’re also proud to share some of the ways Danone’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is directly impacting how we do business.
Oikos Addresses Nutrition Needs at HBCUs
We know that many U.S. communities experience economic, physical and personal barriers to nutrition based on income, distance to food options, and lack of transportation1 In particular, food insecurity on college campuses is referred to as an “invisible epidemic.” This specifically affects Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with nearly half (46%) of surveyed HBCU students saying they consider food insecurity to be a challenge.
In response, Oikos created the Oikos Nutrition Sponsorship Program, powering up an HBCU campus for the 2023-2024 season. The partnership is already making an impact with Jackson State University Athletics in Jackson, MS:
$100K donated to fund the restocking of healthy snack stations at the JSU Athletics Department
More than 1,100 pounds of product donated
Nutrition resources shared with student athletes, in partnership with the Collegiate Professions Sports Dietician Association
For the 2024-2025 school year, Oikos has signed on to partner with the Savannah State University Athletics Department (Savannah, GA) as the next HBCU in the Oikos Nutrition Sponsorship Program.
Investing in Diverse Media Suppliers
We also want our products and marketing efforts to reflect the broad spectrum of consumers we hope to serve, as well as the diverse workforce we’re working to build. We have been actively investing in diverse media suppliers, creators and influencer networks. Across all brands, Danone has reached 32,000 new followers from paid diverse creators.
We’ve also established key partnerships:
Activia grew its investment in video content with Canela Media, a minority, woman-owned media company.
We’re working with Kargo, a leader in attention-based and innovative advertising solutions, and their Multicultural Content Amplifier (MCA) program. The MCA program is helping us expand our media spend to more diverse-owned publishers – starting with members of the Black Owned Media Equity & Sustainability Institute (BOMESI). Read the press release for more detail on our partnership with Kargo.
Our commitment to embedding diversity, equity and inclusion in our business strategy is a journey we’re proud to be on. We are striving to continually expand our internal and external partnerships to help us ensure our workforce and our products authentically reflect the broad spectrum of consumers we aim to serve.
You can learn more about Danone’s DEI efforts here.
