October 12, 2018

German poultry giant PHW, an active investor of early stage sustainable protein companies abroad, has become a “strategic investor” in Bugfoundation, the makers of Germany’s “first” insect burger. The shareholder commitment was undisclosed.

Bugfoundation’s burger recipe is made with buffalo worms and organic soy, and was first introduced in Belgium in 2015, followed by the Netherlands in 2017, and this year, it hit German supermarkets. To perfect the recipe, which also includes a host of other base ingredients as well as being free from additives, founders and friends Max Kramer and Baris Ozel worked with the German Institute of Food Technology. The ingredients – specifically the buffalo worms – are raised “species-appropriately” without any use of antibiotics, and are produced sustainably, producing up to “100 times less green house gas emissions and using 10 times less feed compared to beef production,” according to the Bugfoundation website.

In a statement provided to just-food, PHW said: “As the PWH Group, we now have the opportunity to support Bugfoundation in key areas such as sales, logistics, production and product development. We are firmly convinced that this type of novel food, which is rich in sustainable, high-quality proteins and unsaturated fatty acids, will have a significant market share in the future.”

Active in Alternatives

PHW has been actively investing in alternative food options, most recently in August when it participated in the $8.7 million Series A funding round in support of Good Catch, a plant-based seafood producer. At that time, Paul Wesjohann, CEO of PHW Group, said: “The equity investment in Good Catch is evidence of our forward-thinking strategy. Good Catch is consistent with our pursuit to provide the U.S. with sustainable, clean foods. We do not see this transaction as a financial investment but rather as the beginning of a long-term strategic partnership.”

Earlier in 2018, PHW became the strategic partner for international expansion of U.S.-based Beyond Meat. PHW was instrumental in introducing the company’s popular plant-based burger by lending its extensive expertise in the European market with regard to distribution, logistics, and costumer and consumer engagement. At that time, Wesjohann noted that the company embraced this “supposedly unusual partnership” because “our job as a food manufacturer is to create as many different offerings for the consumer as possible: for example, we offer the consumer a wide range of protein-rich products, from conventionally produced poultry meat, to private courtyard poultry, to a vegan range.”

Additionally, as reported in GAI News in January 2018, PWH participated in the $3 million seed funding round for Israeli food tech startup SuperMeat and partnered with the company in the goal of bringing cell-cultured chicken to market within three years.

-Michelle Pelletier Marshall

Michelle Pelletier Marshall is the managing editor for Global AgInvesting’s quarterly GAI Gazette magazine and a regular contributor to GAI News. She can be reached at mmarshall@globalaginvesting.com.