Danone-Lazada plans its strategic partnership

French FMCG company Danone has teamed with Lazada Group to create a series of online stores for Southeast Asia, starting with Thailand in December.

The Danone-Lazada strategic regional partnership covers Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The two companies say they will create “a superior online shopping experience for key product categories, combining their expertise on shopper needs and behaviours, and bringing convenience and compelling content to the ever-growing number of online consumers across the region”.

The alliance will begin with Danone’s Early Life Nutrition category, which features a portfolio of brands for families with young children. Danone’s Early Life businesses are already working together in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore – participating in Lazada mega-campaigns such as Online Revolution on 11.11 and 12.12.

The joint venture will stretch beyond simple e-commerce by offering parents advice and information on the growth, development and nutritional needs of children. Lazada’s digital platforms will provide convenient ordering solutions, personalised service and exclusive content and events developed with Danone.

“We have been working with Lazada for more than a year, and accelerating our partnership in the last six months,” says Eric van der Hoeven, VP of growth through engagement at Danone Early Life Nutrition. “We want to support all parents in their journey, and wherever we can, to help them make well-informed feeding decisions for their children at the critical moments in their growth and development. I am very pleased that our constructive collaboration so far will now be taken further in this strategic regional partnership.”

Lazada CEO Max Bittner says young parents live increasingly busy lives and are often confronted with information overload.

“Teaming up with a trusted brand like Danone reinforces Lazada’s position as a source of quality products and enables us to serve the best, most relevant content, service and support for parents on their journey.”

The partnership will come into force by end of November, beginning with workshops bringing together the Danone and Lazada teams in the local countries in sharing insights and planning. The first visible consumer features jointly developed will be implemented on the Lazada websites in Thailand in December.