Lesaffre
EMEA
Marcq-en-Baroeul
,
France
Multinational
FOUNDED
1853
HEADCOUNT
10000+
FUNDING
Privately held
Keywords:
fermentation, yeast, bacteria, filamentous_fungi, food_protein, flavors, probiotics, nutraceuticals, vitamins, biofuels, enzymes, metabolic_engineering, synthetic_biology, directed_evolution, biostimulants, crop_protection
BUSINESS
Lesaffre is a privately held, family-owned global producer of yeast, bacteria, and fermentation-derived ingredients, and is one of the world's largest yeast manufacturers. Recent activity includes the October 2024 acquisition of Altar (an adaptive laboratory evolution platform) from Ginkgo Bioworks, a partnership with MicroBioGen on yeast strain development, and a savory ingredients collaboration with DSM-Firmenich.
BIOTECH INVOLVEMENT
Fermentation and microbial biology are central to the entire business, organized into three pillars: Food, Taste & Pleasure (Biospringer, Fermentis, Ennolys); Healthcare (Gnosis, Phileo, Agrauxine); and Industrial Biotechnology (LEAF, Procelys, LIS). Core organisms span Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, bacteriophages, and filamentous fungi, with platform capabilities including baker's yeast, yeast extracts, animal probiotics, vitamin K2 (MenaQ7), recombinant strain engineering via LEAF, and second-generation bioethanol. Active R&D in synthetic biology and adaptive laboratory evolution, with roughly 700 R&D personnel across 10 global centers.
TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM
microbial fermentation; bioengineering
PRIMARY PRODUCTS
Yeasts; bacterial cultures; probiotics; baking and feed ingredients