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Abstract Plant-sourced aromatic amino acid (AAA) derivatives are a vast group of compounds with broad applications. Here, we present the development of a yeast consortium for efficient production of (S)-norcoclaurine, the key precursor for benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis. A xylose transporter enables the concurrent mixed-sugar utilization inScheffersomyces stipitis, which plays a crucial role in enhancing the flux entering the highly regulated shikimate pathway located upstream of AAA biosynthesis. Two quinate permeases isolated fromAspergillus nigerfacilitates shikimate translocation to the co-culturedSaccharomyces cerevisiaethat converts shikimate to (S)-norcoclaurine, resulting in the maximal titer (11.5 mg/L), nearly 110-fold higher than the titer reported for anS. cerevisiaemonoculture. Our findings magnify the potential of microbial consortium platforms for the economical de novo synthesis of complex compounds, where pathway modularization and compartmentalization in distinct specialty strains enable effective fine-tuning of long biosynthetic pathways and diminish intermediate buildup, thereby leading to increases in production.