OIKOS^® invites Canadians to rediscover the pleasure of cooking and donates chef-prepared takeout meals to grocery workers

Boucherville, Quebec, May 29, 2020: OIKOS^®, Canada’s best-selling brand of Greek yogurt, partners with renowned local chefs Jérémie Falissard (Barocco, Montreal), Ivana Raca (Ufficio, Toronto) and Robin Filteau-Boucher (Gypsy Kitchen+Bar, Montreal) to support the culinary and grocery communities, and encourage Canadians to rediscover the pleasure of cooking at home with nutritious ingredients, such as OIKOS^® yogurt.

These live online cooking classes began on April 27th. Each week, food enthusiasts, including the three local chefs, share their creativity and their love for healthy, nutritious and tasty recipes made with OIKOS^® products. In addition to sharing recipes, OIKOS^® and Danone Canada support grocery stores workers, employees, partners and suppliers by donating takeout meals.

“Every little bit of kindness can help people get through these challenging times, and sharing healthy comforting food is a powerful way to raise spirits. Thanks to hard-working grocery store workers, Canadians can continue to experience the joy of cooking at home with their families,” said Eric Maffert, Senior Marketing Director Dairy, Danone Canada. “We believe that it is important to use our business as a force for good, so it became obvious for us to go further by donating the meals created by our partner chefs to food industry heroes.”

Approximately 300 takeout meals were donated in Montreal and Toronto. The first chef to be featured was Jérémie Falissard (Barocco, Montreal), whose recipe for yogurt-marinated lamb with flatbread was the inspiration for 150 takeout meals distributed to workers in four Montreal area grocery stores. On May 17th, another 150 takeout meals from the recipe created by chef Ivana Raca (Ufficio, Toronto) – a pan seared salmon with dill yogurt potatoes, garlic French beans & pomegranate radish salad – were distributed to grocery workers in the Greater Toronto Area. Completing the donation, chef Raca prepared 70 OIKOS^® Overnight Oats for the front line staff at the Ina Grafton Gage Home on Wednesday, May 20th.

On a global scale and in Canada, Danone has taken extensive measures to support its employees, partners and suppliers. Danone has pledged no job losses due to COVID-19 and guaranteed revenue to all employees in April, May and June, while ensuring that staff are supported even in cases of sick leave, quarantine or child care. The company has also announced financial support of €250 million ($380 million CAD) for the 15,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in its global ecosystem, including farmers, suppliers, and service providers.

Celebrating the love of cooking healthy and delicious meals at home

Mediterranean-inspired recipes are prepared every Monday night, live on IGTV (@oikos_canada), until June 1st. In addition to the celebrity chefs, the six participants also include well-known Instagram influencers and foodies Kirby (@eatingwithkirby), Rosalie Lessard (@rosalielessard_) and couple Brie and Reuben from @vancitywild. On May 4th, Kirby (@eatingwithkirby) cooked ultra-creamy butter chicken meatballs, and on May 11th, Rosalie Lessard created a mushroom toast recipe, with chorizo and Greek yogurt. Lastly, on May 18th, Brie and Reuben from @vancitywild shared their chickpea shawarma with lemon dill Greek yogurt sauce recipe. OIKOS^® products are available in all grocery stores and big-box outlets across Canada.

Credits:
Social strategy & production: Carl

About Danone Canada

One of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, Danone Canada is a business unit of Danone and operates from headquarter offices in Boucherville, Quebec, and Mississauga, Ontario. Danone Canada is the country’s largest consumer-facing Certified B Corporation^®, demonstrating that the company meets the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Danone Canada’s ambition is to produce healthful dairy and plant-based products, as well as coffee creamers and beverages; to create economic and social value; and to nurture natural ecosystems through sustainable agriculture. Its portfolio of brands includes Activia^®; Oikos^®; DanActive^®; Danone^®; Silk^®; So Delicious^®; Light and Free^®; YoPRO; Danette^®; Stok; International Delight^®; and more. For more information about the company, please visit danone.ca; facebook.com/danonecanada; Twitter (@DanoneCanada); Instagram (@Danone.Canada) or LinkedIn (Danone Canada).

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For more information:

Natacha Gouveia
Danone Canada
natacha.gouveia@danone.com