The invention relates to a dry composition comprising from 10 9 to 10 13 cfu/g of the composition of lactic acid bacteria cells, wherein the composition is characterized by that it also comprises following amounts of protective agents (all amounts of protective agents below are given relative to 1 g of lactic acid bacteria cells in the composition) : (i) : from 2 to 9 g of sucrose, from 1 to 3 g of maltodextrin and from 0.75 to 2 g of Na-ascorbate. The composition provides an improved storage stability of the cell of interest, by way of the specific ratio between the amount of cells and protective agents.