Lesaffre is a French

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

manufacturer, and the world's largest producer.

History

The company was founded by Louis Lesaffre, the co-founder of

Bonduelle Bonduelle is a French company producing processed vegetables. History * The company was founded in 1853, when Louis Bonduelle-Dalle (23 October 1802 - 13 November 1880) and Louis Lesaffre-Roussel (1802–1869) established a grain and juniper b ...

, in the mid-19th century. One of its subsidiaries, Bio Springer, was founded by Baron Max de Springer in 1872 in

Maisons-Alfort Maisons-Alfort () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Maisons-Alfort is famous as the location of the National Veterinary School of Alfort. The Fo ...

. In 2004, it formed a North American joint-venture with

Archer Daniels Midland The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 p ...

, known as

Red Star Yeast Red Star Yeast Company, LLC is a joint-venture of Lesaffre and Archer Daniels Midland. Red Star operates two plants in the United States—a plant in Headland, Alabama, and a plant built in 2006 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Lesaffre Yeast Corporation ...

. In 2006, the end of the malt business, via its subsidiary International Malting Company (IMC), then the fifth largest maltster in the world, created tension among the family shareholders. IMC was acquired at 100% by ADM. In 2007, it was the world's largest producer of yeast. In 2011, it bought the factory of "Voronezh Yeast" LLC in

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

. After the foundation of the Lesaffre Advanced Fermentations (LEAF) subsidiary, the Swiss biofuel start-up Butalco, founded by Eckhard Boles and Gunter Festel, was acquired in July 2014. With this acquisition, Lesaffre entered the market for second generation, waste-based

bioethanol Ethanol fuel is fuel containing ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol as found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. Several common ethanol fuel mixtures are in use a ...

and

biobutanol image:Butanol_flat_structure.png, Butanol, a C-4 hydrocarbon is a promising bio-derived fuel, which shares many properties with gasoline. Butanol may be used as a fuel in an internal combustion engine. It is more similar to gasoline than it is to ...

. In 2014, it had an annual turnover of 1.5 billion euros, 7,700 employees and 80 subsidiaries in various countries. The capital is not listed on the stock exchange, but shared among 400 shareholders from the founders' family, whose professional fortune is estimated at 3 billion euros. In 2018, the group took control of Tunisian Rayen Food Industries, which specializes in the production of baker's yeast, and of a Serbian Alltech plant specializing in yeast extracts. In 2021, it was ranked 8th on FoodTalks' list of Top 30 Global Probiotic Food Ingredient Companies. According to current data, the company generates annual sales of €2 billion with more than 10,000 employees and 80 subsidiaries in 50 countries. In 2024, it acquired the control of Brazilian yeast products manufacturer Biorigin from Zilor group.

References

{{Reflist Food and drink companies of France French brands Companies based in Hauts-de-France Yeasts