Hanno Cappon Vice President R&D Danone

Hanno Cappon, Vice President R & D Medical Nutrition

Danone, drawn by the high quality of nutrition-related scientific research in the Netherlands, is building its research center in Utrecht. The opening is planned for 2010. Danone’s research brings 450 jobs to Utrecht.

“Danone chose Utrecht because of the Utrecht Science Park with all that it has to offer, "said Cappon. Danone can now perform clinical tests for medical and baby food at the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital and Utrecht Medical Center.
Biomedical research already obtained about a specific disease, at Utrecht University, can be merged with research on the influence of diet upon that disease. Another determining factor was the central location of Utrecht Science Park.

"We want to keep our current employees, but we also want to attract new people, and especially foreign talent," said Cappon. "Furthermore, the headquarters of Danone is easy to reach by Schiphol Airport. Other research centers such as Rotterdam, Wageningen, Amsterdam, Groningen and Maastricht are quite close(...)".

Danone made the choice for the Netherlands instead of France. "If we want to innnovate, we must stay in the Netherlands". read more