R&D and innovation
Research & Development
R&D is the company’s strategic driving force and and the most vibrant expression of our culture and identity. It enables us to innovate continuously, support our customers with a bold approach, and breathe life into our mission of Serving the Earth. Each year, we invest more than 6 million euros to accelerate our technological lead and address the challenges of tomorrow with ambition.
Innovating to serve our customers and support sustainable livestock farming
At Mixscience, we innovate to create value, anticipate our customers’ needs, and contribute to the development of sustainable livestock farming. Mixscience’s R&D mission is currently focusing on three major priorities:
- decarbonization
- reducing reliance on medication and improving animal welfare
- improving technical and economic performance in livestock farming
Our projects for 2027
In order to develop a more sustainable livestock industry that is competitive, environmentally friendly, and committed to animal health and welfare, our projects are centered around the following priorities:
Precision nutrition
- Optimizing nutritional efficiency and feed conversion ratios in animals
- Protein nutrition based on raw materials with lower carbon intensity to offer nutritional strategies that reduce crude protein levels – partcularly soybeans, oilseed meal, sunflower, rapeseed – Avril’s strategic resources
- Farm management based on real-time and on-site data collection
Enhancing active solutions to support animal health and decarbonization, specifically:
- Through formulation and vectorization systems to ensure controlled release of active ingredients and optimize their efficacy
- Aiming to reduce methane emissions
- Or identifying alternatives to coccidiostats
Data and AI as tools for modeling and predicting livestock performance
Avril’s strength, driving our innovations
Mixscience’s partnership with Avril significantly expands our R&D capabilities, giving us access to state-of-the-art R&D tools and infrastructure, as well as a vast knowledge hub on additives, functional ingredients, lipids, and raw materials. This synergy is built on strategic partnerships – sourcing (Eurolysine) amino acids, (Saipol) oilseed meal , (Sanders field trials) – and helps accelerate our projects and scale up our developments.
A service firm with unique innovation capabilities
At Mixscience, innovation is a human adventure driven by a multidisciplinary team. This team of passionate professionals turns our expertise into concrete solutions for our customers, be they food manufacturers, feed formulators or livestock farmers, by leveraging cutting-edge innovation capabilities.
A multidisciplinary R&D team with close ties to the livestock industry
Our R&D team is built on a long-standing presence in the feed industry and expertise in zootechnics, animal nutrition, and raw materials.
Today, this foundation is complemented by a range of disciplines that, combined, provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges of modern livestock farming. 30 experts, including scientists, engineers, doctors, microbiologists, chemists, in vitro specialists, and data scientists, work in synergy with our nutritionists, veterinarians, and animal species specialists. They work closely with partners in the field to offer effective solutions that address the realities and needs of livestock producers.
Data supporting animal nutrition
A team of data scientists now further strengthens our ability to anticipate, model, and leverage data across the entire value chain.
This expertise is now central to our R&D efforts and enables us to improve predictions of raw material variability, refine in vitro characterization, develop tools to support nutritional decision-making, and offer a comprehensive range of digital services dedicated to optimizing livestock management.
Expertise that powers our innovation
The development of our products, methods, services, and digital applications results from a combination of expertise in microbiology, plant science, and oleochemistry, along with extensive expertise in the areas of raw material characterization, formulation, and active ingredient vectorization.
Microbiology
We develop biocontrol solutions derived from microorganisms for the livestock industry.
These barrier flora or live bacteria colonize their environment, establish a beneficial microbial community, and contribute to the emergence of a balanced ecosystem based on beneficial bacteria. The patents granted to date attest to our strong capacity for innovation.
Phytogenics & oleochemistry
Our knowledge of plant extracts and vegetable oil processing methods combined with AVRIL’s expertise enables us to develop solutions based on tannins, essential oils, and fatty acid monoglycerides that help support animal health and well-being and reduce the use of chemicals
The power of our formulation expertise
Mixscience possesses unique capabilities in the implementation of active ingredients. Our dedicated team draws on extensive, detailed knowledge of active ingredients and their interactions to determine the most suitable formulation for the properties desired.
VSTAR Technologies
With expertise in advanced vectorization, VSTAR Technologies combines formulation, zootechnical, and industrial know-how with a dual objective:
- to preserve the properties of the active ingredients and ensure their stability during the industrial manufacturing process,
- to deliver improved performance in livestock through gradual release kinetics in the animal’s digestive tract.
Cutting-edge innovation capabilities
- Mixscience relies on advanced infrastructure to develop, test, and validate its solutions.
- The Mixscience Research Centre conducts over 100 trials per year at a multi-species experimental farm.
- Datalab, specialized laboratories, and academic partners further strengthen this innovation dynamic.
Mixscience draws on infrastructure and tools that are unique in the market:
INNOLAB – Innovation Laboratory
1,000 square meters of cutting-edge technology for characterizing active ingredients, developing their formulations, and demonstrating their efficacy
Pilot facilities
Validation of formulations on an industrial scale
An NIR analysis service
Monitoring raw materials and feed quality
Datalab center
Development of digital services and decision-making tools
Academic and technical partnerships
INRAE, universities, Tecaliman…
Mixscience Research Center (MRC): a unique research facility in Europe
Our MRC Research Center is structured around two complementary divisions: Euronutrition, dedicated to research on pigs and poultry, and the Sourches site, which houses all our dairy cow facilities.
Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities designed for the precise and controlled assessment of nutritional solutions and livestock management practices, this huge multi-species farm with dairy cows, pigs, rabbits, broiler chickens, and laying hens enables the conduct of more than 100 trials per year under perfectly controlled conditions.
