Yum! Vietnam as the center of insect food
/People are starting to worry about the ability of the earth to feed a growing population. Is there a limit? One of the ways to more efficiently use the earth’s resources is to eat more insects.
Why? Well, growing insect protein is actually quite efficient, unlike, for example meat protein.
In addition, according to the same article linked to above, crickets, palm weevil larvae and mealworm were all significantly healthier than beef or chicken.
Vietnamese have a long history of eating insects. Turns out, the country is also full of innovative insect food companies:
Cricket Hop: A UK-based company with farms in Vietnam. It was started by two British chefs that were travelling in Vietnam. They mainly make cricket flour, which can be used in baked goods or things like smoothies and protein drinks. Not sure they have any funding.
NutritionTechnologies: This is mainly animal feed that produces in Malaysia with supporting sites in the UK, Vietnam and Singapore. It is focused on the SE Asian market. They closed a Series A funding round of $8.5m in July 2019. The lead funders were Openspace Ventures and SEEDS Capital.
Entobel: Company that makes animal feed, oil and fertilizer from insects. It is based in HCMC. It has raised $1.8m according to Crunchbase.
Insect farming is actually a big deal right now. Lots of companies have gotten funding. Ynsect, a French firm, raised $125m in a series C in February. Another French company, Innovafeed, raised $40m in late 2018. Agriprotein, a UK company, raised $105m in debt and equity in June 2018.
Vietnam really has an opportunity here, and it will be interesting to see if Entobel, which I wrote about back on March 18, or any of these other companies, are able to make it. I have eaten bugs before, but ultimately, I am not super excited about eating them. I am, however, pumped about using insects for animal feed. So much of farmland is devoted to animal feed, so anything to make that more efficient is great.