February 11, 2021

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

Canadian alternative insect protein startup Entomo announced it has closed on C$3.7 million (US$2.89 million) in funding secured from undisclosed Canadian and Asian investors. 

As the global population continues its climb toward 9.5 billion by 2050, global meat production has tripled over the last 40 years, and is expected to double from today’s production levels by 2050, reports Civil Eats.  

However, because global livestock production uses between 30 and 40 percent of the world’s arable land and accounts for a minimum 51 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions every year, alternative protein sources – whether from soy, peas, rice, nuts, insects, algae or others– have caught the imagination of consumers and the attention of investors.

As protein alternatives gain traction with consumers, Lux Research claims that growing demand could translate to protein alternatives claiming 33 percent of the market by 2054. Meanwhile, the insect protein market (including crickets) alone is expected to be valued at more than $1.3 billion by 2025, according to MarketsandMarkets.

Driving this growth is the fact that crickets have a higher protein content than chicken, fish, or pork, and nearly that equal to beef. Their production also uses a fraction of the land, water, and feed compared to the livestock industry, making them a much more sustainable and environmentally-friendly protein option.

* Editor’s note: If you are like me and are allergic to shellfish, it’s best to not eat insects or insect protein as studies have found them to contain the same allergens.

Anyway, onward!

Founded in 2014 by brothers Jarrod, Darren, and Ryan Goldin, Entomo Farms operates a 60,000 square-foot production facility, manufacturing and providing insect protein ingredients, including cricket and mealworm powder and whole roasted crickets, to meet the need for alternative proteins for dozens of global brands and food companies.

“We are so excited to be working with such a forward-thinking and mission-driven partner as we look to change the face of sustainable nutrition, together,” said Josh Campbell, CEO of hi! Human Improvement, an innovative health and wellness brand.

Entomo may be the largest insect farm for human consumption in North America, but it is not the only startup working to take crickets into the protein mainstream.

In January 2018, Ontario-based Dane Creek Capital Corp. (DCCC), a pet investment-focused merchant banking venture, announced it completed its third round of funding for Nova Scotia-based, cricket-focused protein startup Midgard Insect Farm, raising its holding to 80 percent.

Another is Israeli foodtech startup and Trendlines portfolio company Hargol FoodTech which raised $3 million in April 2020 from existing investors including Singapore-based Sirius Venture Capital, and the Netherlands-based SLJ Investment Partners. 

For Entomo, the company says that this fresh capital represents the ability to expand its operations to meet growth demand, as well as key sales and marketing activities as the company looks to deepen its presence with both consumers and global audiences.

“We are thrilled to continue our growth trajectory in the alternative protein & sustainable foods space. We are expanding our facilities to support the exciting growth of our customers and we look forward to launching a new consumer brand later this year,” said Lauren Keegan, CEO, Entomo Farms. “With this investment, and a planned capital raise in late 2021, we will keep paving the way for crickets as an important food ingredient for people and pets.”

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.