Daniel Carasso (December 16, 1905[1] – May 17, 2009)[2] was a French member of the prominent Sephardic Jewish Carasso family and the son of Isaac Carasso, founder of the (now) multinational Danone.
Daniel Carasso | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 December 1905 |
| Died | 17 May 2009 (aged 103) |
| Alma mater | École supérieure de commerce de Marseille Pasteur Institute |
| Parent | Isaac Carasso |
Biography
editCarasso, son of Isaac Carasso, was born in Salonica, Ottoman Empire (modern Thessaloniki, Greece), where his family had lived for four hundred years following Spain's expulsion of its Jews. In 1916, after the Balkan Wars, the family moved to Barcelona.[2] In 1919, Carasso's father began marketing a yogurt that he named 'Danone' after Daniel, whose nickname was Danon.[2]
In 1923, Carasso enrolled in business school in Marseille, France, and studied bacteriology at the Pasteur Institute.[2] He took over the family business. In 1939, he opened a branch in France.
He settled in the United States in 1941 after fleeing France when it was invaded by the Nazis.[2] Carasso returned to France in 1951.[2]
Death
editDannon Yogurt
editIn 1942, he formed a partnership with two family friends, Joe Metzger, a Swiss-born Spanish businessman, and his son Juan. They bought a small Greek yogurt company, Oxy-Gala, and founded Dannon Milk Products in Bronx, New York.[2] In 1947, Dannon added jam to its yogurt as a concession to American tastes and succeeded in growing sales to a broad market. He expanded the business into cheeses and other foodstuffs, and bought the American company from Beatrice Foods in 1981, changing the name to Groupe Danone.[3]
References
edit- ^ Daniel Carasso, fondateur de Danone.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Grimes, William (May 20, 2009). "Daniel Carasso, a pioneer of yogurt, dies at 103". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2009.
- ^ Daniel Carasso, Dannon yogurt namesake, dies
