Danone will invest over €50m in Volvic site
Danone’s investment programme will run through 2030 at the Chancet facility, which bottles Volvic natural mineral water. The company said the spending is intended primarily to improve the site’s environmental performance, while also supporting operational upgrades and engagement with the surrounding region.
A central element is the installation of Reuse technology. Danone said the plant will become the first natural mineral water facility in France to use treated wastewater for industrial activities. The system is expected to save 220m litres of water each year.
The capital plan also includes a bottling line described by Danone as more efficient. Other measures cover decarbonisation and skills development for the workforce. The company has not provided a breakdown of the investment by project.
From 2027, Danone plans to hold a water conference at the facility with academic, institutional and industrial partners. The event is intended to support collective scientific research. Danone chief executive Antoine de Saint-Affrique said the company wanted to reinforce Volvic’s position in hydration and contribute to development in the Auvergne region through investment in innovation, employees and resource protection.
The programme comes after legal scrutiny of environmental statements made for Volvic. The Paris Judicial Court ruled in favour of a complaint brought by the consumer organisation Consommation, Logement, Cadre de Vie. The ruling found that environmental claims appearing on Volvic bottles and packaging were deceptive.
Danone said in June that it would appeal. It disputed the court’s reasoning and said the case concerned practices that Volvic had used in the past, which the company said complied with the regulations and practices applicable at that time.
Danone’s Waters division reported revenue of €4.85bn in 2025, a 2.6% decline on a reported basis and a 1.9% increase on a like-for-like basis. Europe generated €2.17bn, up 3.3%. Revenue from Africa, the Middle East and Africa and Latin America was €1.60bn, down 1.9%, while China, North Asia and Oceania recorded €777m, a 6.1% decline. In the first half of the year, the division’s sales totalled €2.52bn, increasing 3.6% on a like-for-like basis.
