Jean-François Fontaine is Vice President of the Jefo Group, a Quebec-based company that has become a leading global player in animal precision nutrition. Having grown up within the company, he developed an early understanding of its culture of innovation, human-centred values and mission to improve animal health and performance worldwide.
He began his career in the production plant, gaining hands-on experience and a deep understanding of Jefo’s unique microencapsulation technology. He later held various roles in procurement, customer service and strategic planning, giving him a well-rounded perspective on the company’s operations and long-term development.
Appointed Vice President in 2014, Jean-François has since played a key role in strengthening the Group’s international position. He works closely with the leadership team to diversify investments, oversee major construction projects and prepare the next generation, ensuring sustainable and responsible growth.
A committed and approachable leader, Jean-François Fontaine embodies the entrepreneurial spirit, openness and determination that define Jefo. Through his deep understanding of the agri-food sector and his human-centred leadership style, he helps showcase Quebec expertise and Jefo’s values on the world stage.
You have spent more than four decades working and researching in the field of animal nutrition. What first drew you to this field?
I often say I didn’t just discover this industry. I grew up in it!
Being part of a family business like Jefo, I was exposed very early to what happens behind the scenes, from production challenges to the very real impact nutrition has on animal performance. I made the choice early on to get actively involved in the business, and over the last 20 years, I focused heavily on operations management, plant construction and productivity optimisation, while staying very close to our product and technical teams. This gave me both a broad understanding of how ideas translate into industrial reality and a strong grasp of our nutritional concept.
Today, what drives me is bridging operational excellence with nutritional performance. It’s not enough for solutions to work on paper. They have to work consistently in real production environments. My role is to make sure that gap doesn’t exist.
Since founding Jefo in 1982, how has your vision for non-medicated animal nutrition evolved alongside industry demands?
When I look back, non-medicated nutrition has clearly moved from being an alternative to becoming a necessity. I’ve seen that shift happen very concretely in the field. As expectations around animal health and performance increased, nutrition became a much more central lever, and not just to optimise results, but to reduce reliance on antibiotics.
Antibiotic resistance has really been a turning point in that evolution. It changed how we all think about nutrition. At Jefo, our vision evolved toward integrating natural solutions directly into nutrition programs to drive performance and health simultaneously.
For us, our goal is clear; to improve animal health and performance through nutrition, reduce reliance on antibiotics as growth promoters and preserve them strictly for therapeutic use against bacterial diseases. This is not only a scientific challenge, but also a responsibility toward the future of animal production.
Given the situation in West Asia, how might potential trade tariffs and higher transportation cost on feed additives impact their supply, cost and usage across global markets? And how is Jefo addressing these challenges?
The current geopolitical situation is creating more pressure across the industry, with rising transportation costs, increased trade uncertainty and greater volatility in raw material prices. In practical terms, this directly affects both the cost and accessibility of feed additives globally.
From what I see, this kind of context reinforces the need to be more efficient and less dependent on logistics intensity. And this is exactly what we did at Jefo. We’ve adapted by strengthening supply chain resilience and diversifying sourcing, but also by developing solutions that deliver more value with lower inclusion rates.
Ultimately, the goal is to reduce dependency on volume and move toward maximum efficiency per kilogram of product used, helping our clients maintain performance despite a more uncertain and volatile environment.
If anything, the West Asia situation reminds us just how complex global logistics can be!
In the petfood sector, how does Jefo enhance nutrient efficiency while addressing the growing trend of petfood humanisation?
What we’re seeing very clearly in petfood is that expectations are getting closer to what we see in human nutrition, both in terms of quality and functionality. Pets are part of the family now, so naturally owners want the same level of care in the bowl. And in many cases, they’re probably a bit more demanding for their cats and dogs than for themselves!
At Jefo, we didn’t start from scratch. We’ve been working for more than 40 years in livestock, understanding how nutrients behave, how they’re absorbed and how they impact animal performance in real conditions.
So, when we moved into petfood, the approach stayed the same. It’s about ensuring nutrient stability and bioavailability, and protecting sensitive ingredients from degradation to ultimately support digestive health and long-term wellness.
Because at the end of the day, the logic is no different. Whether it’s a cow, a chicken or a dog, if nutrients are better utilised, you get better long-term results. And that’s really what the market and the petfood manufacturers are looking for now: functional, measurable benefits, aligned with consumer expectations.
Looking ahead, which trends will shape the future of animal and aquaculture feed and nutrition?
To me, the direction is quite clear. The future of animal nutrition lies in precision, responsibility and efficiency, and we’re already seeing some important shifts:
- Delivering the right nutrient at the right place where it truly makes a difference
- Relying less on antibiotics, with nutrition taking a bigger role in supporting health
- Improving efficiency while using fewer resources
- Working with alternative ingredients that require smarter delivery
- And using data and performance monitoring to guide decisions
At Jefo, our role is to combine operational excellence with advanced nutritional solutions, to deliver consistent performance while protecting both animal and public health.
And overall, it’s a very positive evolution as we move closer to that One Health approach, where animals, people and the environment are aligned. When everything starts moving in the same direction like that, that’s usually when you know you’re on the right track.
