Akralos Animal Nutrition Launches, Expanding Advanced Feed and Nutrition Solutions Across North America
Akralos Animal Nutrition, a newly formed North American animal feed and nutrition company, officially commenced operations on February 1, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of the continent’s feed and agri-nutrition sector. The company was created through a joint venture between two global agriculture leaders—ADM and Alltech—bringing together decades of expertise, infrastructure, and scientific innovation under a single, unified organization.
The launch of Akralos represents the strategic integration of Alltech’s U.S.-based Hubbard Feeds and Canada-based Masterfeeds businesses with ADM’s extensive U.S. feed operations. By combining these complementary platforms, Akralos enters the market with considerable scale, a strong operational footprint, and a clear mission: to deliver advanced, reliable nutrition solutions that help animal producers, retailers, and owners gain a measurable competitive advantage.
With an expansive network of more than 40 feed mills across North America and a workforce of over 1,400 team members, Akralos is positioned to serve a wide range of customers with consistency and efficiency. The company provides high-quality complete feeds, minerals, supplements, and nutrition programs through its trusted brands, all supported by advanced nutritional science, research-driven innovation, and personalized customer service.
At the helm of Akralos is Chief Executive Officer Brian Gier, a seasoned leader with more than 30 years of experience in the commercial animal feed industry. Gier emphasized that while the company is new by name, it is built on a strong foundation of proven operations, established customer relationships, and deep technical expertise.
“Akralos brings together proven scale, innovation and infrastructure with a deep commitment to service and results,” Gier said. “From day one, our focus is on delivering nutrition our customers can rely on, support they can count on and partnerships that help their animals and businesses thrive.”
The company’s name reflects its purpose. Akralos is designed to serve as more than a feed supplier; it aims to be a long-term nutrition partner, helping customers navigate evolving production challenges, shifting market dynamics, and increasing expectations around efficiency, sustainability, and animal well-being. By aligning people, products, and science, Akralos seeks to deliver consistent performance and actionable insights that translate directly into on-farm and operational success.
A central pillar of Akralos’ approach is collaboration. The company’s experienced nutritionists, technical specialists, and sales teams work closely with customers to develop tailored solutions that address specific production goals and regional conditions. These efforts are supported by leading-edge research and development capabilities, robust laboratory and testing infrastructure, and broad logistical resources that ensure reliable product availability across North America.
Akralos also benefits from strong connections throughout the agri-food value chain. Leveraging the combined networks of ADM and Alltech, the company is able to integrate insights from grain sourcing and ingredient optimization to feed formulation and animal performance. This end-to-end perspective allows Akralos to help customers make informed decisions in an increasingly complex production environment.
The formation of Akralos builds on a longstanding relationship between its parent companies. ADM and Alltech’s partnership dates back to 1980, when ADM became Alltech’s first customer. Over the decades, the two organizations have collaborated across multiple areas of agriculture and nutrition, establishing a foundation of trust, shared values, and complementary strengths. Akralos represents the next chapter in that relationship, formalizing a unified platform dedicated specifically to animal nutrition.
Headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, Akralos operates across the United States and Canada, with feed manufacturing facilities, research centers, and laboratories strategically located to support customers in diverse markets. The company serves a broad customer base, including livestock producers, equine operations, and backyard and leisure animal owners. This diversified portfolio allows Akralos to address the needs of both large-scale commercial operations and smaller, specialized customers with equal focus and care.
Chief Operating Officer Brad Dalke, who brings 27 years of leadership experience at ADM, highlighted the value of combining the two organizations’ capabilities into a single, customer-focused enterprise.
“With the unique strengths and shared values of Alltech and ADM, we can deliver deeper expertise, broader support and a stronger portfolio of nutrition solutions and services,” Dalke said. “Everything we are doing is designed to help our customers build more profitable and resilient operations.”
Operational excellence is a key priority for Akralos. The company’s scale allows it to optimize manufacturing efficiency, ingredient sourcing, and logistics, while its decentralized network of feed mills ensures responsiveness to local market needs. This balance between scale and proximity enables Akralos to maintain consistent quality while adapting formulations and services to regional conditions and customer requirements.
Importantly, Akralos has chosen to retain Hubbard Feeds and Masterfeeds as its core customer-facing brands. Both brands have long histories and strong reputations in their respective markets, and their continuity ensures familiarity and trust for existing customers. At the same time, product and portfolio alignment efforts are underway to allow each brand to evolve while benefiting from the shared resources, scientific expertise, and operational strength of Akralos.
Through this brand strategy, customers can expect continuity in relationships and service, paired with expanded access to innovation, research, and technical support. Over time, Akralos plans to introduce enhanced nutrition programs, digital tools, and data-driven insights designed to improve decision-making and performance across species and production systems.
Looking ahead, Akralos’ leadership has articulated a clear and ambitious vision for the company’s future. The goal is to become the most trusted name in animal nutrition across North America, defined not only by product quality, but by the strength of its partnerships and the tangible results it delivers.
“Our vision is to become the most trusted name in animal nutrition by delivering high-performance feeds and partnerships that drive results,” Gier said. “We’re here to listen, collaborate and use science to solve real-world challenges—nourishing advantage for all of our customers and partners.”
As animal agriculture continues to evolve in response to economic pressures, regulatory expectations, and growing demands for efficiency and sustainability, Akralos enters the market at a pivotal moment. Backed by the combined legacy, resources, and innovation capacity of ADM and Alltech, the company is well positioned to help shape the future of animal nutrition while supporting the success of producers and animal owners across North America.
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