Bramsche-Engter (Germany): Leiber GmbH celebrated its 70th anniversary this week with over 200 partners, friends, and employees in attendance. The company highlighted its extensive work with brewers’ yeast and its impact on various sectors, including biotechnology, livestock feed, and food supplements.
Founded in 1954 by Franz Leiber in Damme, the company transforms brewers’ yeast into a wide range of products. Over the past 70 years, Leiber has developed methods to preserve the nutritional value of yeast for market applications. The new Leiber Campus, which includes offices, research labs, and a test kitchen, represents the company’s commitment to innovation.
Managing Director Bernd Schmidt-Ankum emphasized the importance of maintaining a start-up mentality. Guests at the event sampled various products, including immune-boosting supplements and spreads. Artist Elena Handel presented a sand painting that depicted the company’s history, illustrating milestones from its founding to the opening of the new campus.
According to the company heads, ‘sustainability’ is central to Leiber’s operations. In 2024, the company launched a biomass power plant that supplies about 80% of its energy needs. Leiber aims for climate-neutral production by 2030.
As it moves forward, Leiber remains focused on developing solutions for healthy nutrition and agricultural applications while continuing to upcycle brewers’ yeast for a global market. The company’s 70-year history underscores its ongoing influence in the industry.
Dr. Holger Kühlwein, Key Account Manager Aquaculture at Leiber, talked about the company’s perspective on the industry and its plans for the future:
How have you seen the yeast industry evolve over these 7 decades?
“Over the past seven decades, the yeast industry has evolved from a focus on basic fermentation processes to a highly specialized, innovative field serving diverse sectors. In the 1950s–60s, yeast was primarily used for bread and industrial beer production, with limited strain variety. The 1970s–80s saw advancements in biotechnology, the rise of active dry yeast, and the emergence of craft brewing, leading to greater experimentation with yeast strains. The 1990s–2000s brought the rise of specialty yeasts, yeast extracts, and yeast’s role in nutritional products and bioethanol production. In the 2010s, the industry focused on sustainability, health, and yeast innovation, such as probiotics and hybrid strains. By the 2020s, precision fermentation, synthetic biology, and yeast-engineered proteins for alternative foods marked the industry’s growing role in biotechnology and sustainability efforts. Today, we at Leiber produce over 100 different products and serve a wide range of sectors including animal nutrition (livestock, aquaculture and Petfood), food applications, nutraceuticals and biotechnology.”
What plans/developments do you have/want to see for Leiber in the coming years?
“In the coming years, Leiber plans the following developments: the acquisition and integration of ABN in Spain, along with the expansion of production capacities there. Additionally, the biotechnology sector will be further developed to drive innovative solutions. Another focus is on entering the U.S. market by establishing a local sales structure. This statement is subject to possible changes.”