Sustainable Sourcing

What Sustainable Sourcing does

Sustainable Sourcing LLC is a privately held, U.S.-based processor of animal-derived fats and oils founded in 2008 and headquartered in Mokena, Illinois. The company refines three core products — Lard Oil, Chicken Oil, and Stearine — to customer-specific specifications using proprietary in-house processing technology that allows it to blend inputs from multiple raw material suppliers while maintaining a consistent finished product. Annual throughput exceeds 50 million pounds, with all finished material quality-assurance tested prior to shipment. The company operates a fully automated Midwest production facility that has been active since December 31, 2011 and is designed as a zero-footprint site requiring no on-site disposal of wastewater or byproducts.

The company's commercial focus is B2B ingredient supply into four verticals: pharmaceutical (its original primary market), biodiesel, animal feed (including pet food flavor additives), and steel (cutting oils). It sells via direct, quote-based enterprise relationships rather than through disclosed pricing, and it is recognized as Eli Lilly's Global Supplier of the Year for service, product quality, and environmental record. Operations are governed by a Safe Feed Safe Food certification and a documented HACCP Plan, and the company maintains memberships in the American Fats & Oils Association, American Feed Industry Association, National Renderers Association, and American Oil Chemists Society. Sustainable Sourcing is independently owned with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or M&A history.

The business model is volume-driven industrial ingredient sales: revenue scales with pounds shipped, blended ASP varies by vertical, and customer acquisition is relationship-based rather than marketing-driven. The company has invested in supply chain formalization (hiring a dedicated Supply Chain Manager with global supply chain expertise from US Foods) and vertical diversification (entry into steel cutting oils), but it has not disclosed revenue, headcount, or pricing. Its competitive position rests on proprietary processing technology, regulatory certifications, long-standing supplier relationships, and the Eli Lilly endorsement, with no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, patents, or technology partnerships beyond its proprietary know-how.

Name

Sustainable Sourcing

Legal name

Sustainable Sourcing LLC

Website

https://sustainablesourcingllc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sustainable Sourcing LLC is a U.S. processor that refines animal fats (Lard Oil, Chicken Oil, Stearine) to precise customer specifications for pharmaceutical, biodiesel, animal feed, and steel customers, processing over 50 million pounds annually using proprietary technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animal Fats and Oils Manufacturing

NAICS

Fats and Oils Refining and Blending (311225)

SIC

Fats & Oils (2070)

akta.pro primary industry

Edible Animal Fats Rendering & Refining (Tallow, Lard) (AFAKAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Animal-Derived Edible Fats (Tallow, Lard, Butterfat/Ghee) (AFAJALAE)

Keywords

• Animal fat refining
• Rendered animal oils
• Biodiesel feedstock
• Pharmaceutical oils
• Animal feed fats

Headquarters

HQ city

Mokena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Animal Fats and Oils Product Sales: Sustainable Sourcing sells processed animal fats and oils including Lard Oil, Chicken Oil, and Stearine. Products are sold to pharmaceutical, biodiesel, animal feed, and steel industries. The company sells more than 50 million pounds of material annually.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Sustainable Sourcing LLC refines and processes animal fats and oils, producing lard oil, chicken oil, and stearine from a fully automated Midwest facility for industrial buyers. The company sells more than 50 million pounds of these refined oils annually into pharmaceutical, biodiesel, animal feed, and steel end-markets.

Product overview

Sustainable Sourcing LLC operates as a single-product-line processor that refines animal fats (Lard Oil, Chicken Oil, and Stearine) to precise customer specifications using proprietary technology. The company processes more than 50 million pounds of material annually, with all finished products quality-assurance tested prior to shipment. The three core products—Lard Oil, Chicken Oil, and Stearine—are refined fats and oils serving the pharmaceutical, biodiesel, animal feed, and steel industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lard Oil Refined lard oil produced from animal fats at the company's Midwest facility, sold in bulk to pharmaceutical, animal feed, biodiesel, and steel manufacturers.
• Chicken Oil Refined chicken oil produced from animal fats at the company's Midwest facility, sold in bulk to pharmaceutical, animal feed, biodiesel, and steel manufacturers.
• Stearine Stearine (stearin) fraction derived from animal fats at the company's Midwest facility, sold in bulk to industrial buyers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Global Supplier of the Year recognition from Eli Lilly

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• SARIA Group: Global rendering and recycling company operating in animal fats, proteins, and biodiesel feedstocks across Europe and North America. Comparable to Sustainable Sourcing on the rendering-and-refined-fats side, but with much broader geographic and product scope.
• Darling Ingredients: Largest publicly traded rendering company in the world, producing rendered animal fats (tallow, lard, poultry fat) used in animal feed, biodiesel, and oleochemical applications. Closely comparable to Sustainable Sourcing in end markets and feedstock, but operates at vastly larger, global scale.
• Cargill: One of the world's largest agricultural commodity and ingredient companies with a global fats and oils platform serving animal nutrition, biodiesel, and industrial customers. Overlaps with Sustainable Sourcing across multiple end markets but at far greater scale and breadth.
• Tyson Foods (Prepared Foods & Rendering): Vertically integrated protein producer that captures rendered fats from its own slaughter operations, supplying animal feed and biodiesel customers. Overlaps with Sustainable Sourcing on the feedstock and end-market side but operates as a broad protein incumbent rather than a specialty refiner.
• Bunge Limited: Global agribusiness and oilseed processor with a major vegetable oils and fats platform serving food, feed, and biofuel customers. Overlaps with Sustainable Sourcing in fats/oils processing and biodiesel feedstock, though focused on vegetable oils rather than animal fats.
• Smithfield Foods (rendering operations): Large pork processor producing rendered lard and other animal fats from its slaughter operations, selling into animal feed and renewable diesel markets. Comparable feedstock and end markets to Sustainable Sourcing, though Smithfield's rendering is captive rather than a customer-focused specialty processor.

Direct peers

• Baker Commodities: U.S. rendering company that processes animal byproducts into tallow, yellow grease, and protein meals for animal feed and biodiesel markets. Directly comparable to Sustainable Sourcing's rendering-adjacent operations and overlapping end markets in feed and biodiesel.
• Valley Proteins: Privately held U.S. renderer producing rendered fats, oils, and protein meals for animal feed, biodiesel, and industrial customers. Directly comparable as a fellow private U.S. animal fats processor serving feed and renewable fuels end markets.

Emerging players

• Kalsec: Privately held specialty ingredient supplier to food, beverage, and pet food manufacturers with proprietary extraction and processing capabilities. Comparable to Sustainable Sourcing as a specialty, specification-driven ingredient processor serving pharma-adjacent and pet food customers.

Others

• Perstorp (animal nutrition fats & acids): Specialty chemical company producing fatty acids, esters, and other oleochemical derivatives from animal and vegetable fats for animal nutrition and industrial markets. Comparable as a downstream value-added processor of animal fats, though focused on derivatives rather than refined fats and oils.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Sustainable Sourcing