Chr. Hansen

What Chr. Hansen does

Chr. Hansen Holding A/S is a Danish bioscience company founded in 1878 and headquartered in Hørsholm, Denmark, that develops natural solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries. Its core technology is biosolutions based on microbial fermentation, enzymes, bacterial cultures, and natural food colorings derived from biological sources — including lactic acid bacteria for dairy and plant-based fermentation, IP-protected probiotic strains such as BB-12™, protective cultures branded as FreshQ® 5.0, plant- and algae-based colorants (beetroot, turmeric, spirulina, anthocyanins), silage inoculants, and feed enzymes. The company's product portfolio spans Food & Beverages (cultures, enzymes, natural colors), Human Health (probiotics and microbiome solutions), Animal & Plant (silage inoculants, feed enzymes, bio-based crop protection), Bioenergy, Household Care, and Industrial Bioprocessing.

Chr. Hansen operates as a B2B ingredient supplier, selling microbial ingredients, enzymes, and natural food colors directly to enterprise food, nutraceutical, cosmetic, and agricultural manufacturers. Revenue is generated through volume-based ingredient supply and licensing/royalty arrangements on proprietary strains, with quote-based pricing typical for industrial ingredient customers. The company leads the global food cultures market with a 24-28% share, supplies fermentation scale and IP-protected strains to major food and beverage producers including Danone, Nestlé, and Yakult Honsha, and runs the Feed Enzyme Alliance in partnership with dsm-firmenich (now brought in-house via Novonesis's 2025 acquisition). Its go-to-market combines enterprise field sales, clinical R&D investment to substantiate health claims, strategic co-development partnerships with major food companies, and downstream distribution via hypermarkets and supermarkets for finished probiotic products.

Following its December 2023 merger with Novozymes, Chr. Hansen operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Novonesis A/S (NASDAQ Copenhagen: NVZMY), a combined bioscience group targeting a €60 billion biosolutions market opportunity and reporting $4.92 billion in FY2025 revenue with 7% organic growth in Q1 2026.

Name

Chr. Hansen

Legal name

Chr. Hansen Holding A/S

Website

https://chr-hansen.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1878

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Chr. Hansen is a Danish bioscience company that develops microbial cultures, enzymes, natural food colors, and probiotic strains for enterprise customers across the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries. It operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Novonesis following the 2023 merger with Novozymes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Biotechnology / Food Bioscience Ingredients

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311), Dairy Product Manufacturing (3115)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Dairy Products (2020), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Probiotics (Human & Animal Strains, Spore-Formers, Synbiotic Bases) (AFAJAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Probiotics & Digestive Health Supplements (CRADAGAF), Probiotic/Fermented Functional Cultured Dairy (Added Cultures/Prebiotics) Manufacturing (AFAHADAJ), Probiotic & Live-Culture Beverage Production (Shots, Tonics) (AFAFAHAE), Probiotic, Prebiotic & Gut-Health Foods Manufacturing (Fermented Functional Foods, Synbiotics) (AFAKAJAH), Probiotic/Prebiotic Functional Beverage Production (Non-Fermented) (AFAFAFAE), Swine Specialty/Functional Feed (Gut Health, Probiotics, Acidifiers, Enzymes) (AFADABAI), Probiotics (Strains, Spore-Formers, Synbiotic Components) (AFAJAKAE)

Keywords

• Microbial food cultures
• Probiotic ingredients
• Natural food colors
• Food enzymes
• Biosolutions fermentation

Headquarters

HQ city

Hørsholm

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Probiotic ingredients B2B: Chr. Hansen supplies probiotic ingredients to food, nutraceutical, and cosmetic manufacturers through fermentation scale, IP-protected strains, and B2B partnerships
2. Natural food colors: Major manufacturers including Chr. Hansen maintain competitive advantages through integrated sourcing networks, proprietary processing capabilities, and economies of scale for natural food coloring ingredients
3. Food cultures and bacterial cultures: Supply of lactic acid bacteria and microbial food cultures for dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives, with Chr. Hansen leading the competitive landscape with 24-28% market share

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Chr. Hansen manufactures and sells microbial cultures, food enzymes, natural food colors, and probiotic ingredients for B2B customers across food & beverage, human health, animal nutrition, and agricultural industries. The portfolio includes the BB-12™ probiotic strain, FreshQ® 5.0 protective cultures, lactic acid bacteria for dairy fermentation, silage inoculants, and spirulina-based colorants, organized into biosolutions verticals including Food & Beverages, Human Health, Animal & Plant, Bioenergy, Household Care, and Industrial Bioprocessing.

Product overview

Chr. Hansen (now part of Novonesis following its merger with Novozymes in 2023-2024) operates as a biosolutions company offering a broad portfolio of microbial ingredients, enzymes, and natural food colors. The company's offerings span multiple industry verticals including Food & Beverages (bacterial cultures, food enzymes, natural colors), Human Health (probiotics including the documented BB-12™ strain), Animal & Plant (silage inoculants, feed enzymes), Bioenergy (enzymes for biofuel production), Household Care, and Industrial Bioprocessing. The portfolio includes platform products like FreshQ® 5.0 protective cultures for clean-label preservation. The combined entity positions itself as a leader in biosolutions addressing food systems, health, and sustainability challenges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BB-12™ Probiotic Strain The world's most documented Bifidobacterium probiotic strain, used in dietary supplements, functional foods, and beverages for gut health applications. Targeted at human health manufacturers and nutraceutical brands.
• FreshQ® 5.0 Protective Cultures

Quantifiable outcome

• Leading 24-28% market share in global food cultures market
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• dsm-firmenichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Novonesis and dsm-firmenich have worked together for over 25 years on innovating and distributing enzymes for animals as the Feed Enzyme Alliance. Novonesis acquired dsm-firmenich's animal feed enzyme business, bringing sales and distribution activities under the same roof as research and innovation.
• UPL Ltd.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Bio-based crop protection partnership between UPL Ltd. and Chr. Hansen Holding A/S, reflecting the industry's shift toward sustainable and resistance-managed formulations.
• DanonecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2024Danone teamed up with Chr. Hansen on dairy and plant-based innovation as part of the Partner for Growth initiative, focusing on developing new probiotic and culture solutions for dairy and plant-based products.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Novozymes: Now merged with Chr. Hansen to form Novonesis. Was historically the most direct peer in industrial enzymes and microbial solutions, serving overlapping food, beverage, animal nutrition, and bioenergy customers globally.
• Lesaffre: Privately held French global leader in yeast and fermentation products. Directly comparable as a B2B supplier of microbial cultures, probiotics, and fermentation ingredients to food, bakery, and nutraceutical manufacturers.
• Lallemand: Canadian family-owned yeast and bacteria producer with a major probiotics and fermented functional ingredients business. Overlaps with Chr. Hansen in dairy cultures, human probiotics (incl. L. rhamnosus GG), and animal nutrition.
• dsm-firmenich: Dutch-Swiss specialty nutrition and health ingredients major; 25-year Feed Enzyme Alliance partner with Chr. Hansen before divesting animal feed enzymes to Novonesis. Comparable across animal nutrition, human health probiotics (i-Health), and food enzymes.
• Corbion: Dutch specialty ingredient company producing lactic acid, functional ingredients, and microbial solutions for food and personal care. Directly comparable in dairy cultures and fermentation-derived food ingredients.

Broad incumbents

• International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF): Global ingredient major following the DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences merger; offers cultures, enzymes, and probiotics through the Health & Biosciences division. Competes with Chr. Hansen across dairy cultures and food enzymes for major CPG customers.
• Kerry Group: Irish taste & nutrition major serving food and beverage manufacturers. Comparable as a broad-line B2B ingredient supplier with probiotics, enzymes, and functional ingredient portfolios competing for similar CPG wallet share.
• ADM (Archer Daniels Midland): Global agribusiness major with a Human Nutrition and Health & Wellness ingredients portfolio including probiotics (Biopolis) and natural colors. Comparable as a broad-line supplier to food, beverage, and nutraceutical manufacturers.

Regional players

• AB Mauri: Baking yeast and ingredient arm of Associated British Foods. Comparable as a global microbial/baking ingredient supplier with overlapping food cultures and bakery ingredient customers.

Emerging players

• Evonik Industries: German specialty chemicals company with a probiotics (Evonik Probiotics) and animal nutrition business. Overlaps with Chr. Hansen in animal health probiotics and gut-health ingredients, serving feed and supplement markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Novonesis
• Facebookfacebook.com/chr.hansen.group
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/5971
• Instagraminstagram.com/novonesis
• Xx.com/chr_hansen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chr. Hansen