Jude Delisle went into business in the early 1930s. Starting out as a cottage industry, his fresh dairy product business began to really expand with the construction of a plant in Boucherville in 1968. Danone today is Canada's industry leader, with distinctive values that have helped it achieve a level of performance excellence year after year. To read more about highlights in the development of Danone Canada, please click on the links below:

• 1930s to 1960s: a cottage industry

  Jude Delisle was born in 1888 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. During a trip to France, he discovered yogurt and its healthful benefits. Two years later, he got help from the Pasteur Institute and acquired some lactic starter. He was now ready to go into yogurt production for himself.

  Delisle set up business in Montreal, first in a little workshop on Duluth Street and then, in 1951, in more spacious quarters on Berri Street. With the move he increased his production from 20 tubs of yogurt a day to 4,000. His first buyers were doctors who prescribed yogurt as a medication, and Montrealers of European descent, who were soon enthusiastically spreading the word.

  Delisle's advertising included ads and packages that trumpeted yogurt's beneficial effects on digestion. Little by little, the product began to interest a growing customer base. That's when visionary businessman Leslie Jonas joined the Delisle adventure.

• 1960s to 1990s: a going concern

  Leslie Jonas acquired Delisle in 1963. At that time, the market was just being introduced to fresh-fruit yogurt. With annual revenues of $90,000, Delisle was the fourth-largest yogurt producer. To increase its competitive edge, the company concentrated on quality, innovation, distribution and marketing, and developing employee skills.

  By 1967, Delisle had become the leading yogurt producer in Canada. In 1968, industrial production was being handled in the company's modern facility in Boucherville. The competition was fierce and the business was kept on a solid growth trajectory by continually introducing new products and going into new markets.

  In 1975, Silhouette, the first fat-free yogurt, was launched. Revenues exceeded $40 million in 1980. In 1993, Delisle joined the Danone Group and began its quest to conquer the market in Western Canada. Delisle became Danone Canada four years later in 1997.

• Today: the golden age

  Today, with brands such as Danino, DanActive, Activia, Silhouette, Danone Creamy and Danissimo, Danone is the top yogurt producer across Canada.

  We've doubled our production in four years to some 340 million tubs - that's over 75,000 tons of yogurt! Our growth is steady and revenues now ring in at over $250 million a year.

  The Danone Group umbrella gives Danone Canada access to a network of over 100,000 associates. It's team spirit like this that helps keep Danone in the position of number one yogurt producer worldwide.