Danone names Francois Lacombe to lead U.S. offensive into 2027

By Daniel Okafor

Danone said on Wednesday it posted 2.4% like-for-like North America sales growth in the third quarter, with much of the increase coming from a 3% price rise as volume and product mix slipped 0.6%.

That split defines the challenge facing Francois Lacombe, who will become president of Danone U.S. Demand for Danone’s yogurt has outrun its U.S. manufacturing capacity. The company added capacity, but customer-service and supply-chain problems followed the ramp-up.

A new leader for the offensive phase

Lacombe joins from Spain, where he has been improving Danone’s operations. CFO Juergen Esser said his assignment is to make 2027 look very different from the current year. Esser also said Danone needs fresh leadership to run the U.S. business in a more offensive and aggressive manner.

CFO Juergen Esser said: “We need to work harder to improve our U.S. performance and regain momentum now that capacity is there, which requires stronger focus on execution and rebuilding our innovation leadership.”

A Danone spokesperson said Lacombe will focus on execution, a deeper connection with consumers and further growth. The spokesperson also said Lacombe sees significant U.S. opportunity to build on Danone’s brands, innovation pipeline, service excellence, and leadership in health and nutrition.

Why yogurt demand strained operations

Food Dive reported that Danone’s Oikos and Activia yogurts have been major beneficiaries of the GLP-1 weight-loss boom, which has increased demand for protein-rich, portion-controlled products.

The outlet cited three product attributes:

• High protein content.
• Portion control.
• Other nutrients needed when consumers eat less because of medication.

According to the report, that demand left Danone unable to produce enough because U.S. manufacturing capacity lagged. Danone has since invested millions in its U.S. business. Its projects included:

• Expanding a facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
• Growing and upgrading the yogurt facility in Minster, Ohio.

The expansion created a new service problem

The capacity build did not produce a smooth operating transition. Esser told analysts that the ramp-up caused performance and customer-service issues in North America because new capacity disrupted Danone’s supply chain.

In Esser’s account, Danone now has more production room but a less reliable service system. The next test is running the expanded network without renewed service disruptions.

Esser said Lacombe “will be sorting out quickly now the issue on customer service and then really playing to the max a very strong innovation pipeline for the U.S. for 2027, an innovation pipeline, which we have not seen for years, to be honest.”

That puts service recovery before the innovation push for 2027. Danone also needs volume and product mix to improve if it wants growth beyond the 3% price increase recorded in the third quarter.

What does this change for Danone U.S.?

It puts a known turnaround operator in charge of a U.S. business with strong yogurt demand, new capacity and a service deficit. Lacombe’s first job is to connect those three parts.

Lacombe joined Danone in 1997 through the water business, working from the company’s former Stamford, Connecticut, office. He later held senior leadership roles across North America, Latin America and Europe. Most recently, he led a turnaround of Danone’s dairy and water business in Spain and reversed softened performance in specialized nutrition and plant-based categories.

Danone credits him with operational expertise, turnaround skills, an ability to simplify complex problems and stronger accountability within teams. His background matches the operational problems Esser described.

For Danone U.S., the near-term test is service recovery. Better execution must turn new capacity into reliable supply and healthier volume and product mix. By 2027, the company must show that its U.S. growth no longer depends mainly on a 3% price increase. It must use the added facilities, the innovation pipeline and stronger execution to turn GLP-1-driven yogurt demand into sustained volume growth.