LIS by Lesaffre

What LIS by Lesaffre does

LIS by Lesaffre is an industrial contract service provider specializing in custom ingredient drying for food, feed, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic ingredient manufacturers. Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Cérences, France, the company is a subsidiary of Lesaffre (a global yeast and fermentation products producer) and operates three production sites in France and Poland with twenty production lines spanning laboratory to industrial scale.

The technical platform rests on three drying modalities: standard spray drying with evaporative capacity from 5 kg to 2,500 kg of water per hour and packaging from 5–1,000 kg (bags, cartons, Big Bags); vacuum tunnel drying for viscous and heat-sensitive liquids without carrier addition; and the proprietary PolarDry electrostatic spray-drying technology under nitrogen, which enables enhanced micro-encapsulation, oxidation protection, and low-temperature drying for high-value compounds. Upstream services — mixing, emulsification, acidic and enzymatic hydrolysis, filtration, and heat treatment — are bundled into the offering. The company claims 50 years of process experience and an annual throughput capability exceeding 1,000 distinct product references across diverse matrices including flavors, colorants, proteins, fruit and vegetable powders, fibers, minerals, vitamins, enzymes, and plant extracts.

The business model is B2B contract manufacturing: customers deliver liquid ingredients to LIS facilities, which are processed and packaged under a quote-based pricing structure that is not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is consultative enterprise sales (primary CTA "Let's talk about your needs") targeting ingredient manufacturers across five industry verticals, with no distribution intermediaries. The company operates privately, does not disclose financials, has no publicly named customers, and has no disclosed certifications, regulatory actions, or M&A activity in the source data.

Name

LIS by Lesaffre

Legal name

LIS by Lesaffre

Website

https://lesaffre-ingredients-services.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

LIS by Lesaffre is a European contract drying service provider for ingredient manufacturers, operating spray drying, vacuum tunnel drying, and PolarDry electrostatic spray-drying across sites in France and Poland for food, feed, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cérences

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Manufacturing Services: LIS by Lesaffre provides custom ingredient drying services on a contract/manufacturing basis for ingredient manufacturers. The company processes customer-provided liquid ingredients into powdered form using their various drying technologies, positioning them as an industrial service provider rather than a product seller.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

LIS by Lesaffre is an industrial B2B service provider that performs custom ingredient drying for food, feed, nutraceuticals, cosmetics and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The company operates 20 production lines across 3 sites in France and Poland, offering three drying technologies (standard spray drying, vacuum tunnel drying, and the PolarDry electrostatic spray-drying process under nitrogen) plus upstream liquid preparation services such as emulsification, hydrolysis, filtration, and heat treatment. Processing is delivered on a contract manufacturing basis with packaging from 5 to 1,000 kg, targeting approximately 1,000 different product references per year.

Product overview

LIS by Lesaffre is an industrial service provider specializing in custom ingredient drying for the food, feed, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals markets. The company operates three production sites in France and Poland with twenty production lines offering laboratory to industrial scale capabilities. Their core service portfolio consists of three primary drying technologies—standard Spray Drying, Vacuum Tunnel Drying, and the proprietary PolarDry (electrostatic spray-drying) technology—complemented by Upstream Liquid Preparation services. With 50 years of experience processing over 1,000 different product references annually, the company supports diverse product types including flavors, natural colorants, proteins, fruit and vegetable powders, fibers, minerals, vitamins, enzymes, and plant extracts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Spray Drying Standard industrial spray drying service for ingredient manufacturers, producing powdered ingredients with evaporative capacity from 5 kg to 2,500 kg of water per hour across single-stage and multiple-stage towers, high-pressure nozzles, bi-fluid nozzles, and turbines; supports packaging from 5 to 1,000 kg in bags, cartons, and Big Bags. Serves customers in food, feed, nutraceuticals, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
• Vacuum Tunnel Drying Continuous drying in a vacuum tunnel for viscous and thermosensitive liquids, performed without the addition of a drying carrier. Suited to ingredient manufacturers that need to process heat- or shear-sensitive formulations that cannot tolerate the conditions of standard spray drying.
• PolarDry Electrostatic Spray-Drying Proprietary drying service using electrostatic spray-drying under nitrogen, with enhanced micro-encapsulation efficiency for emulsions, drying under nitrogen for oxidation-sensitive products, and lower-temperature drying for heat-sensitive products. Targeted at ingredient manufacturers handling high added-value compounds.
• Upstream Liquid Preparation Pre-drying processing service covering simple mixing to complex emulsification for micro-encapsulated products, liquid hydrolysis (acidic and enzymatic), various types of filtrations, and heat treatments. Designed to integrate with subsequent spray drying, vacuum tunnel drying, or PolarDry runs for ingredient manufacturers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Can process over 1,000 different product references annually

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kerry Group: Global taste and nutrition ingredients producer of flavors, proteins, and functional ingredients for food and beverage manufacturers. Comparable as a broad food and nutraceutical ingredient manufacturer with contract-manufacturing capabilities.
• Symrise: Global manufacturer of flavors, fragrances, and nutrition ingredients with broad food and personal care exposure. Comparable as a large-scale specialty ingredient producer with nutraceutical and cosmetic end-market overlap.
• Sensient Technologies: Global manufacturer of flavors, fragrances, and natural colors with proprietary micro-encapsulation capabilities. Comparable to LIS in delivering specialty ingredient solutions to food, beverage, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical markets.
• IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances): Global ingredient and formulation company serving food, beverage, health, and biosciences markets. Comparable in scale, breadth of food-ingredient solutions, and exposure to nutraceutical and pharma customers.
• Tate & Lyle: Global food ingredient manufacturer focused on specialty sweeteners, fibers, and texturants. Comparable as a specialty industrial ingredient producer serving food and beverage end-markets via similar processing capabilities.
• Glanbia Nutritionals: Global nutrition and ingredient manufacturer operating across dairy, plant-based proteins, and pre-mix solutions for food and nutraceutical customers. Comparable as a contract-capable ingredient producer serving the food and nutraceutical end-markets that LIS targets.
• dsm-firmenich: Global nutrition, health, and beauty ingredient company formed from the merger of DSM and Firmenich. Comparable via its vitamins, minerals, and nutraceutical ingredient portfolio that relies on similar upstream processing technologies.
• Balchem Corporation: Specialty ingredient manufacturer with strong micro-encapsulation capabilities across human and animal nutrition. Comparable via its encapsulation platform for high-value sensitive compounds, mirroring LIS's PolarDry positioning.
• ADM: Global food-ingredient and agricultural processor with an extensive European footprint. Comparable via industrial-scale processing of food, feed, and nutraceutical-adjacent ingredients.

Others

• GEA Group: Global supplier of spray drying and process equipment for food, dairy, and pharmaceutical applications. Comparable as the equipment and technology enabler whose systems underpin contract-drying operations like LIS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lesaffreingredientsservices
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lis-lesaffre-ingredients-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 LIS by Lesaffre