Lallemand is a Canadian company founded in the late 19th century by a young Alsatian-French entrepreneur, Fred A. Lallemand. Today, Lallemand operates 52 plants worldwide, producing yeast and bacteria for applications ranging from food and biofuels to human and animal nutrition.
Its animal nutrition business unit, headquartered in Toulouse, France, has become increasingly focused on aquaculture. “Aquaculture is a fast-moving market for us. While it’s not our largest market, it’s a strategic one, especially in dynamic regions like Asia,” said Yoann Perrault, area director for Southeast Asia at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, in an interview with Aquafeed.com at VIV Asia.
At the show, the company presented a new nutritional functional product for the aquaculture industry in Asia, Yela Prosecure, offering added nutritional and health benefits through improved protein kinetic of absorption and prebiotic fiber. The product is suitable for all species, with some specific application targets such as shrimp, tilapia juveniles or high-protein diets. It has already been launched in some Asian markets like Vietnam and the Philippines.
Disease and microbial management in shrimp
While Lallemand Animal Nutrition holds a strong position in species like salmon in Europe, shrimp remains its core aquaculture species. Stephane Ralite, aqua product manager at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, identified diseases and price volatility as the main ongoing challenges.
“My first job was as a shrimp farmer in Thailand in the 1990s,” recalled Ralite. “At that time, the industry was battling high mortalities and dealing with the yellowhead virus—the first shrimp virus discovered. Since then, we’ve seen a succession of diseases, the most recent one being acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND/EMS), EHP, white feces and translucent post-larvae disease (TPD).”
Ralite emphasized that in Asia, poor water quality is a major factor exacerbating disease. “With high concentrations of farms and limited regulation, biosecurity becomes critical. Some farmers avoid water exchange to reduce risk, but then bioremediation and microbial management become essential,” he said.
He noted that while phytoplankton management is widely practiced, bacterial and microbiota management is still in its infancy across much of the region.
“This is where we come in. We bring our expertise in beneficial microorganisms and provide them with protocols tailored to farm conditions. Through research and field demonstrations, we show how to apply probiotics effectively and sustainably,” said Ralite.
“Being in the field with farmers is part of our DNA,” added Perrault. “Our local teams in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia are backed by our global R&D and provide hands-on support with protocol implementation.”
Lallemand Animal Nutrition is always looking for local partners to cooperate with in the field, as it already does in India with Avanti Feeds. “In the case of these vertically integrated groups, application and feedback is usually more efficient,” Ralite said.
As the shrimp industry evolves, facing continued price pressures and disease threats, consolidation and integration are bringing more sophistication to the sector.
“These changes bring opportunities to deliver more value to farmers and eventually justify premium prices for sustainability,” Perrault said. “Farmers need to feel secure in their efforts towards sustainability, and building that trust is key for a shift in the industry.”
However, the path to sustainable value creation is still maturing. “It’s crucial,” Perrault noted, “but challenging for farmers to capture economic benefits from it right now.”
Emerging opportunities in fish
Fish is also an important market, including seabass, seabream and salmon in Europe but also low-value species such as tilapia in Latin America.
“The tilapia market is technologically diverse, and we’re seeing growing recognition of our solutions from large producers,” said Ralite. “Even smaller farmers are showing interest when targeting niche market segments.”
“Market education takes time,” Perrault added. “But as more consolidation and integration occur, we’re seeing greater recognition of how our products reduce mortality and improve performance—even in lower-value species.”
Looking ahead
With market uncertainty driven by economic and trade challenges, resilience and adaptability are key for the aquaculture industry, Perrault said.
“Aquaculture has a promising future,” said Perrault. “It provides affordable protein for a growing population. But the industry still faces challenges, especially around sustainability and disease. That’s why Lallemand Animal Nutrition is committed to being present and active, investing in R&D and building local support networks.”
Ralite is particularly optimistic about the future role of microbial management. “Not just in aquaculture broadly, but especially in shrimp, microbial management will be a game-changer,” he said.
“We were pioneers of microbial management in Europe when the concept wasn’t widely recognized, and we registered the first - and still unique - probiotic authorized for use in aquafeed,” said Ralite. “Today, it’s widely accepted that managing gut health through probiotics is essential. The scientific literature backs this up. There’s still a lot to explore and understand, but it will be central to farm's health and sustainability.”
“We invest a lot in science. That’s the foundation of our strength—and why we’re confident about the road ahead,” Ralite concluded.
