Company
Danone
TL;DR
French multinational food corporation with €27 billion revenue operating a fractal brand portfolio.
French multinational food corporation with €27 billion revenue operating a fractal brand portfolio. The global corporate structure contains regional divisions, which contain category portfolios (dairy, plant-based, water, medical nutrition), which contain individual brands (Activia, Alpro, Evian, Aptamil), which contain product lines.
Each level nests within the previous, creating a fractal brand tree where each level operates as a P&L-accountable unit with similar management structure. The fractal distributes decision complexity but creates overhead costs and internal cannibalization between nested brands.
Cautionary Notes on Danone
- Portfolio complexity costs with ~100,000 employees including many coordinators
- Internal cannibalization between brands like Activia and Oikos