Black soldier fly farmer Inseco raises $5.3m in South Africa’s ‘largest-ever seed round’
It’s raising the insects on organic byproducts such as food waste, before converting them into proteins and oils for use in animal feed.
It’s raising the insects on organic byproducts such as food waste, before converting them into proteins and oils for use in animal feed.
The Cambridge, UK-based company aims to recreate ‘upcycling’ in nature by feeding our food waste to fly larvae – which are then fed to livestock.
The Paris-based startup will supply insect protein to ADM’s pet foods division, to create “high-quality nutritional” products with “a significantly lower carbon footprint and land requirement.”
The UK startup will use its insect farms to turn food waste from Morrisons supermarkets into feed for hens to produce ‘carbon-neutral’ eggs.
The Bangkok-based startup makes pet food products out of black soldier fly larvae, feeding them “a diet from pre-consumed food waste” and other “food surpluses.”
It’s “an instrumental step in upscaling the European insect sector,” according to industry group IPIFF.
Novel Farming Systems – which includes CEA, aquaculture, and insect production – was the second best-funded agtech category last year, according to AgFunder.
Ÿnsect will initially target the sports nutrition segment following the EU’s approval of mealworms as safe for humans to eat.
The Netherlands startup produces insect protein for a variety of channels, including its own brand of eggs laid by hens that eat its feed ingredients.
The European Food Safety Authority conducted an assessment to determine whether there are any risks associated with letting people eat mealworms.
At full capacity, Beta Hatch’s new facility will produce one ton of insect protein every day. It is scheduled to open sometime in 2021.
It has just launched a burger made from house crickets plus a few plant-based ingredients; consumers couldn’t differentiate it from beef, the startup claims.