By IANS
New Delhi : After launching its health drink Yakult in December, Yakult Danone India Pvt, a joint venture between a Japanese and French company, Friday inaugurated its probiotic drink factory in India at Sonepat, Haryana.
The technologically advanced factory in Rai industrial area is expected to produce one million bottles of this daily dietary supplement a day.
Inaugurating the factory, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Subhodh Kant Sahay said: “I am surprised to know about the contents and nature of this drink. Middle and affluent classes constitute almost 60 percent of India’s population, who are getting health conscious day by day. Therefore, the food processing companies have a bright future in India.”
Kiyoshi Oike, managing director of Yakult Danone India, told a press conference after the inaugural ceremony, “India is the first country that we have ventured in because there is huge potential for such products. As the production begins, our primary aim would be to spread awareness about probiotic drinks in India and thus create a market for ourselves.”
Putting the company’s unique marketing strategy forward, Oike added, “Similar to what we have done in Japan, our health promoters Yakult Ladies will create awareness about probiotics through door to door service.”
Yakult Danone India, joint venture between Japanese probiotic firm Yakult Honsha and French dairy giant Groupe Danone, is a Rs.1.3 billion ($33 million) project.