Presidents of Danone and Unilever in Latin America converse within the EGADE Future Forum webinar series.

By JOSÉ ÁNGEL DE LA PAZ | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL

The presidents of two of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in Latin America and in the world met to discuss the sector’s current situation, within the EGADE Future Forum series.

The webinar “Trends and challenges in the consumer goods industry” was moderated by Jaime Martínez Bowness, Director of EGADE Business School, Mexico City site, who advised of a rise in the number of consumers with a greater concern for their health and for the environment.

Silvia Dávila, President for Latin America at Danone Group, observed that an increasing number of consumers are moving away from a lactose diet, which is why her company has developed alternative plant-based products.

“(In this regard,) we were very active during 2017 when we purchased WhiteWave Foods, which gave us two amazing brands, Silk, for America, and Alpro, for Europe, among others, thereby setting our sights on new worlds. This is our fastest-growing business since it has truly become a trend,” she mentioned.

In turn, Reginaldo Ecclissato, President of Unilever North Latin America and General Manager of Unilever Mexico, confirmed that the purpose of his company today is to make sustainability the norm in our everyday lives.

“We are certain that the only way to guarantee long-term growth at Unilever, is to coexist in harmony with natural resources. We believe that a linear economy is unsustainable. Taking, using, and discarding the planet’s resources has a high environmental cost,” he said.

Ecclissato explained that they are introducing a circular economy in all their processes and observing how consumers use their products.

Watch the complete webinar here.