Lesaffre is a French

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

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 Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ( ...

in 1872 in

Maisons-Alfort Maisons-Alfort () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Maisons-Alfort is famous as the location of the National Veterinary School of Alfort. The Fort de Charenton, constructed betw ...

. In 2004, it formed a North American joint-venture with Archer Daniels Midland, known as

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

. In 2007, it was the world's largest producer of yeast. In 2011 it bought the factory of "Voronezh Yeast" LLC in

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) 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 ...

. 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 biobutanol. In 2014, it had an annual turnover of 1.5 billion euros, 7,700 employees and 80 subsidiaries in various countries. In 2021, it was ranked 8th on FoodTalks' list of Top 30 Global Probiotic Food Ingredient Companies.

References

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