International Ingredient Corporation

What International Ingredient Corporation does

International Ingredient Corporation (IIC) is a family-owned manufacturer and supplier of specialty ingredients for the animal feed and pet food industries, headquartered in Fenton, Missouri. Founded in 1974 and operated by the Brown family as part of The International Companies group, IIC's core activity is upcycling food industry co-products — cheese whey, brewers yeast, candy, chocolate, bacon fat, duck fat, and dairy-derived streams — into value-added specialty ingredients via proprietary drying, blending, and extrusion processes. The company operates 10 SQF- and Safe Feed/Safe Food-certified production facilities across Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, and New Mexico, with more than 90% of finished products manufactured in-house and full traceability at every production stage. Approximately 550 million pounds of co-products are repurposed annually, which the company reports avoids roughly 150,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

IIC's product portfolio spans branded specialty ingredients across eight verticals: swine (Dairylac 80, Nutri-Pal, Nutri-Sure), companion animals (Brewtech dried brewers yeast, Dried Cheese, FiberMax-7, OptiStrum), dairy and veal calves (Dried Cheese MR, RumenGro, OptiStrum), dairy cattle (Chocolate Rumen Optimizer), aquaculture (GroBiotic-A), horses, bees (Bee Pol), and industrial applications. The company maintains a Nutrition Advisory Board of leading university animal scientists and an in-house technical team of PhD nutritionists and product development staff to support formulation work and feeding-trial research, with each proprietary ingredient backed by published research bulletins.

IIC monetizes through direct ingredient sales to feed and pet food manufacturers via a sales-led model, with a dedicated Key Account Manager for ruminant direct sales, a field sales and customer service team, and an export department serving global customers (30+ years of international reach). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is handled via direct quote. Production, technical depth, food-safety certifications, and documented sustainability metrics — rather than software, SaaS, or AI — form the basis of competitive differentiation.

Name

International Ingredient Corporation

Legal name

International Ingredient Corporation

Website

https://iicag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

International Ingredient Corporation is a family-owned manufacturer that upcycles food industry co-products into specialty ingredients for animal feed and pet food, operating ten US production facilities and selling globally across swine, companion animal, dairy, aquaculture, equine, and industrial segments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Animal Feed Ingredients

NAICS

Animal Food Manufacturing (31111), Food Manufacturing (311)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Manufacturing, Private Label & Co-Manufacturing for Animal Diets (HLAMAHAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Custom & Private-Label Pet Food Manufacturing (AFADAFAO)

Keywords

• Animal feed ingredients
• Pet food ingredients
• Food co-product upcycling
• Specialty feed manufacturing
• Dairy calf nutrition

Headquarters

HQ city

Fenton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Specialty Feed Ingredients: IIC generates revenue by processing and selling specialty feed ingredients made from food industry co-products to animal feed and pet food manufacturers. Products are sold directly to customers globally.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

International Ingredient Corporation manufactures and supplies specialty nutritional ingredients for the animal feed and pet food industries. The company upcycles food industry co-products through proprietary drying and blending processes into ingredients such as dried brewers yeast, dried cheese, milk-derived proteins, sugar-based complexes, and specialty starches, which it sells to feed mills, swine producers, dairy operations, aquaculture producers, pet food manufacturers, and industrial customers from ten U.S. production facilities.

Product overview

International Ingredient Corporation (IIC) is a family-owned specialty feed ingredient company that upcycles food industry co-products into value-added animal and pet food ingredients. The company operates as a single product platform of specialty ingredient formulations across multiple animal segments rather than a unified software product. The product portfolio includes ingredients for: Swine (Dairylac® 80, Dried Whey, Milk Chocolate, Chocolate Candy Feed, Sugar Food Product, Candy Oats, Cheese Plus Cheese, Cheese Whey, Dried Cheese, Carbo-Pal, Solu-E, Milk Proteins, Nutri-Pal™, Nutri-Sure™, Protein Blends, Lactose, Custom Blends); Companion Animals/Pet Food (Brewtech® Dried Brewers Yeast, Dried Cheese variants, Dried Bacon Fat, Dried Roasted Duck Fat, FiberMax-7, OptiStrum™, Minced Catfish, Fats & Oils, Specialty Starches, Milk Proteins); Dairy and Veal Calves (Dried Cheese MR, RumenGro™, OptiStrum™, Milk Proteins, Specialty Starches, Lactose); Dairy Cattle (Chocolate Rumen Optimizer, Brown Sugar Food); Aquaculture (GroBiotic®-A, Dried Cheese); Horses (Brewtech®, Fats & Oils); Bees (Bee Pol, Powdered Sugar); and Industrial applications (Granulated Sugar, Dextrose, Fine Ingredient Additives, Fats & Oils). IIC maintains 10 production facilities across the US with Safe Feed/Safe Food or SQF certifications, and utilizes a Nutrition Advisory Board of university animal scientists to support product research and development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brewtech Dried Brewers Yeast Dried brewers yeast ingredient used in companion animal (pet food) formulations for protein and nutrient content, also used in horse feed.
• Dried Cheese (Uncolored, Colored, Cheddar) Dried cheese variants for companion animal nutrition providing protein, flavor, and palatability.
• Dried Bacon Fat Dried bacon fat ingredient for companion animal feed providing fat content and palatability.
• Dried Roasted Duck Fat Dried roasted duck fat ingredient for companion animals with research bulletins supporting palatability.
• FiberMax-7 Fiber ingredient for companion animals with research comparing digestibility to cellulose and beet pulp.
• OptiStrum Specialty ingredient for dairy, veal calf, and companion animal nutrition.
• Minced Catfish Minced catfish ingredient for companion animal nutrition.
• Dairylac 80 Dairy-based ingredient for swine nutrition, particularly nursery pigs and sows during lactation, providing highly digestible protein and lactose.
• Dried Whey Dried whey ingredient for swine feed providing lactose and protein.
• Milk Chocolate Product Milk chocolate product for swine nutrition used in nursery and lactation feeds.
• Chocolate Candy Feed Chocolate candy-based feed ingredient for swine providing energy and palatability.
• Sugar Food Product Sugar-based food product for swine feed with research supporting use in pig starter diets.
• Candy Oats Candy-coated oats ingredient for swine feed.
• Cheese Plus Cheese Cheese-based ingredient for swine nutrition compared against fish meal and dried skim milk in research.
• Cheese Whey Cheese whey ingredient for swine feed providing lactose and protein.
• Carbo-Pal Carbohydrate-based palatant ingredient for swine feed.
• Solu-E Soluble ingredient for swine nursery diets with research supporting performance.
• Nutri-Pal Palatant product for swine feed with research supporting use in sow lactation.
• Nutri-Sure Nutritional supplement for swine with research on biological availability and preference trials.
• Protein Blend SS Protein blend ingredient for swine feed.
• Protein Blend 50 50% protein blend ingredient for swine nutrition.
• Lactose Lactose ingredient for swine, calf, and pet feed formulations.
• Custom Blends Custom blended ingredients for swine feed tailored to specific formulations.
• Dried Cheese MR Dried cheese for milk replacers, specifically formulated for dairy and veal calves with research on calf performance.
• RumenGro Rumen development support ingredient for dairy and veal calves.
• Chocolate Rumen Optimizer Chocolate-based rumen optimizer for dairy cattle providing rapidly fermentable energy, simple sugars, oligosaccharides, and starches.
• Brown Sugar Food Brown sugar-based ingredient for dairy cattle feed.
• GroBiotic-A Research-proven ingredient for aquaculture supporting growth rate and survivability in fish including hybrid striped bass, golden shiners, rainbow trout, tilapia, shrimp, and red drum.
• Bee Pol Bee pollen substitute for honeybee colony performance, supporting package bees, queens, and foraging bee production.
• Powdered Sugar Powdered sugar product for bee feeding applications.
• Horse Feed Fats and Oils Fats and oils for horse feed formulations providing protein, fat, and carbohydrates tailored by use, age, and physiological state.
• Granulated Sugar for Horses Granulated sugar ingredient for horse feed applications.
• Industrial Granulated Sugar Granulated sugar for industrial applications including wallboard production, bioremediation, and fertilization.
• Industrial Dextrose Dextrose ingredient for industrial applications.
• Industrial Fine Ingredient Additives Fine ingredient additives for various industrial applications including insect and rodent control products and hummingbird products.
• Industrial Fats and Oils Fats and oils for industrial ingredient applications including crop and golf course fertilization.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 550 million pounds of food co-products repurposed into specialty ingredients annually
• +4 more outcomes

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Food Products Corporation (IFPC)coreOthersSister company under The International Companies umbrella owned by the Brown family. The group of privately owned companies includes International Ingredient Corporation, International Food Products Corporation, Green Field Solutions, TSL Transportation Incorporated and International Transportation Inc.
• Green Field SolutionscoreOthersSister company under The International Companies umbrella owned by the Brown family, providing commercial feed solutions.
• TSL Transportation IncorporatedcoreOthersTransportation company affiliated with The International Companies, supporting logistics for ingredient distribution.
• International Transportation InccoreOthersTransportation company affiliated with The International Companies supporting distribution operations.
• AFIA (American Feed Industry Association)minorOthersIndustry association affiliation for staying current with research, trends, and industry best practices in animal feed.
• IFEEDER (Institute for Feed Education and Research)minorOthersFeed industry research and education association affiliation.
• American Society of Animal ScienceminorOthersProfessional society affiliation for animal science research and technical exchange.
• ADPI (American Dairy Products Institute)minorOthersIndustry association for dairy product manufacturers and processors.
• Wisconsin Cheese Makers AssociationminorOthersRegional cheese industry association supporting dairy ingredient production.
• SQF Institute (Safe Quality Food)minorOthersFood safety and quality certification body; IIC facilities are SQF certified.
• Dairy Calf & Heifer AssociationminorOthersIndustry association for dairy calf and heifer producers.
• Innovation Center for U.S. DairyminorOthersU.S. dairy industry innovation and sustainability organization.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Biorigin: Specialty ingredient company that upcycles food industry co-products (notably brewers yeast from beer production) into feed and pet food ingredients under the Biorigin brand. Direct comparable to IIC's Brewtech® dried brewers yeast line.
• AFB International: Manufacturer of protein palatants and functional ingredients for the pet food industry, derived largely from animal proteins. Direct competitor to IIC in upcycled/protein-based pet food ingredients and palatability enhancers.
• APC (American Protein Corporation): Producer of spray-dried plasma and specialty animal protein ingredients for swine, aquaculture, companion animal, and industrial applications. Comparable to IIC as a specialty protein ingredient manufacturer serving swine nursery and pet food customers.

Regional players

• Scoular: Privately held US agribusiness with a specialty feed ingredients and pet food ingredients business that upcycles co-products. Comparable to IIC in co-product upcycling into feed and pet food ingredients, primarily focused on North American markets.
• Euro-Protein: European-based supplier of protein concentrates, functional ingredients, and specialty nutrition products for the animal feed and pet food industries. Comparable to IIC in serving swine, aquaculture, and pet food with specialty protein ingredients, but primarily serves European markets.

Broad incumbents

• Darling Ingredients: Global renderer and producer of sustainable ingredients from animal by-products for food, feed, pet food, and fuel. Directly comparable as a large-scale processor of food/animal co-products into specialty feed and pet food ingredients, though much larger and more diversified than IIC.
• Kemin Industries: Global manufacturer of specialty ingredients for animal feed, pet food, and human food with focus on palatability, nutrition, and functional additives. Closely comparable in product scope (palatants, dried yeast derivatives) and in serving the pet food and livestock ingredient markets.
• Alltech: Family-founded global animal nutrition company producing specialty feed ingredients, premixes, and supplements across livestock, aquaculture, and pets. Directly comparable as a science-driven, privately held animal nutrition ingredient manufacturer; significantly larger than IIC.
• ADM Animal Nutrition: Global agribusiness with a large animal nutrition business producing specialty feed ingredients, premixes, and complete feeds. Overlaps with IIC in pet food, swine, dairy, and aquaculture ingredients, with broader portfolio and global footprint.
• Cargill Animal Nutrition: One of the largest global animal nutrition and feed ingredient suppliers, offering premixes, specialty ingredients, and complete feeds across livestock and pet segments. Competes with IIC across multiple of IIC's end markets and has substantially broader scale and geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IICWhitehall
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-ingredient-corporation

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about International Ingredient Corporation