We began in 1882 as Meadow Springs Distillery, a maker of whiskey and gin. In 1919, Prohibition threatened the company's existence. Fortunately, Meadow Springs already had created a business selling yeast; it was packaging the product under the brand Red Star Yeast. Accordingly, the distillery changed its name to Red Star Yeast & Products Company.

During the 1960s, Red Star Yeast evolved from a single-product line producer to a highly diversified food company and changed its name to Universal Foods to emphasize its planned growth in operations. Universal Foods became a member of the New York Stock Exchange. However, as a producer of commodity products, including yeast, frozen potatoes and bulk cheese, Universal Foods had limited growth opportunities.

Over the next several decades, the company divested its commodity segments while also acquiring dozens of companies, all of which had strategic products and innovative solutions. This was a major transformation that launched the organization to its current structure and strategy.

In 2000, Universal Foods changed its name to Sensient Technologies to reflect its expanded focus. It sold Red Star Yeast in 2001 as part of a strategy to divest itself of unprofitable commodity businesses.