French dairy giant Danone is doubling its infant formula production capacity in New Zealand. Its subsidiary Danone Nutricia NZ is spending $25 million on a blending and packing ‘mega facility’ at its Airport Oaks plant in Auckland. “The $25 million expansion of the Airport Oaks facility signifies the growing importance of our NZ operation as an important supply point for the domestic and Asia Pacific markets, and the growing demand for early life nutrition products in key markets,” says Cyril Marniquet, NZ operations director for Danone Early Life Nutrition.
The Airport Oaks facility will include a new gravity blending tower and canning lines, in line with Danone Nutricia’s world-class quality standards. It will also include an innovation centre to launch new products and packaging for the Asia Pacific region.