The move was announced on Wednesday by Danone and European venture capital firm Seventure Partners, which was previously the main shareholder of The Akkermansia Company (TAC).
TAC’s core product is a pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT, a next-generation biotic that has been found to reinforce the gut barrier, reduce inflammation and help manage obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
The decision represents Danone’s shift to prioritize gut health, an increasingly popular area of focus thanks to its growing recognition for its role in overall well-being and prophylactic properties.
Why has Danone acquired The Akkermansia Company?
Danone CEO Antoine de Saint‑Affrique announced the launch of its Renew strategy in March 2022 as part of an overhaul aimed at reconnecting the company with sustainable, profitable growth.
The plan revolved around four core pillars: restoring competitiveness in core categories like dairy and plant‑based, making selective expansion into new segments and markets. seeking future growth avenues. and adapting for portfolio rotation, including considering strategic acquisitions.
As of June 2024, Danone entered the next chapter of the Renew project which will run until 2028. This next phase included plans to pivot categories toward health, with a stronger focus on both protein intake and gut health nutrition.
There is a rising global interest in topics such as microbiome health and personalized nutrition, as well as the wide-reaching capabilities of biotics.
With this investment, Danone is looking to position itself at the forefront of a major health and nutrition trend.
“Expanding deeper into gut health is a key facet of Danone’s Renew strategy, as it doubles down on science and innovation, and as consumer interest in healthy products continues to rise,” according to a statement issued by Danone following the announcement.
About The Akkermansia Company
Akkermansia has shown a potential positive impact on a range of health conditions. The specific species Akkermansia muciniphila was first isolated, identified and characterized by Professor Willem Meindert de Vos and his team at Wageningen University, The Netherlands in 2004.
In 2008, Meindert de Vos collaborated with Professor Patrice D. Cani of UCLouvain, Belgium, and the pair founded The Akkermansia Company in 2016 to develop and patent the species.
The company has broad patents protecting the use of the Akkermansia species, including the use of the pasteurized version (postbiotic) of the strain, MucT, which they report as its most bio-efficacious form.
“The most important thing to say about the strain that we sell is that we selected the pasteurized version, rather than the live version because it was more effective in clinical development,” Michael Oredsson, CEO of TAC, previously told NutraIngredients.
He added that heat-killed bacteria do not lose their potency as quickly as a probiotic, do not need refrigeration and do not require special encapsulation techniques to ensure they reach the gut alive, which makes it much easier to integrate into a range of products.
Application for the approval of pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila as a novel food ingredient in the European Union was made in 2019. A year later, the toxicological safety evaluation of the strain was published, and Akkermansia became the first next-gen bacterium to get EFSA approval in 2021 and remains the only one with European approval.
According to Oredsson, this newly announced acquisition is set to offer fast and wide growth, stating: “It provides us with the resources to accelerate global growth of the pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT strain and develop our brands faster.”
TAC, which has already expanded into Europe, North America and Asia, will now be able to benefit from Danone’s global reach.
The Akkermansia Company was awarded the NutraIngredients Microbiome Modulation Product of the Year Award 2025 for its Healthy Weight with Glucose Control supplement.