In their first experiment with bug-based cuisine, Sean Warner and Patrick Pittaluga developed a bug-infused burger.
They used black soldier fly larvae and black beans to create this unique patty in their Georgia Tech apartment. They were influenced by a significant 2013 United Nations report, which showcased insects as a sustainable food source for the future. The report suggested insects could help address escalating meat prices and mounting climate concerns amid a booming global population.
Despite the burger’s sustainable credentials, its taste was not a hit. This led to a shift in focus for Warner and Pittaluga’s Grubbly Farms brand, which began creating insect meal for pets, particularly dogs and chickens.
This shift from human to pet food was based on the observation that, despite the environmental advantages, people are generally not prepared to consume insects themselves. However, they are entirely comfortable feeding insect-based food to their pets.
A Rabobank report suggests the demand for insect protein in pet food could witness an astounding rise of 4,900% from 2021, reaching half a million metric tons by 2030.
Investors have been enticed by this burgeoning industry’s growth potential. In 2022, insect-based food businesses received a total investment of US$76.77mil (RM365mil), which was followed by an additional US$14.92mil (RM70.9mil) in the subsequent year. High-profile investors include the likes of Mark Cuban and Robert Downey Jr.
As startups, these companies face a delicate balance of creating a demand for their novel products – a challenge that has primarily led them towards the pet food market, as opposed to human consumers.
Phil Poirier, co-founder of Montreal-based Wilder Harrier, warns that “Being too early is just as risky as being too late.” Wilder Harrier has produced a range of products, including cricket dog snacks.
The Challenges with Human Consumers
The idea of consuming insects has been tough to sell to diners. A 2021 YouGov survey found that only a quarter of US consumers would consider adding insect ingredients to their standard diet. The results mirrored sentiment in key European markets such as the UK and Germany.
Consumer reluctance may stem from the ‘ick’ factor associated with eating insects or the fact that insect proteins fail to offer a unique taste or nutritional benefit in the current market.
Alessandro Di Trapani, co-founder of Grub Club Pets, notes that “edible insects aren’t exactly solving a clear pain point” in human diets, beyond their sustainability benefits.
However, pet food based on insects, such as crickets and black soldier fly larvae, is proving successful, with products stocked by major retailers including Petco and Chewy.
In October, Tyson Foods partnered with insect supplier Protix to construct a US facility for the production of insect proteins for pet food and animal agriculture. Mars Inc currently sells cat food made with black soldier fly larvae in the UK.
Appealing to health-conscious pet owners, these products successfully market themselves as hypoallergenic and suitable for pets with sensitive stomachs.
Anne Carlson, founder of Jiminy’s cricket-based pet food brand, believes that the pet food sector demonstrates a superior business model and potential for significant environmental impact.
“Dogs eat the same thing every day. If you replace it with a sustainable alternative, you can control all of their eating occasions,” she explains. Carlson’s product range includes dog food, treats, and dental sticks.
According to Gorjan Nikolik, a senior analyst at Rabobank, pet food is currently driving volume growth in the insect protein market. He expects that growth will accelerate with further research and larger-scale production, making insect-based feed more affordable. This could lead to demand in the aquaculture industry, where insect proteins are used to feed fish and other forms of seafood. By 2030, pet food is projected to form 30% of the total demand.
The majority of livestock and farmed fish are still mainly fed traditional soy or fishmeal, which is cheaper than insect feed. However, ongoing research into potential benefits such as faster growth rates or reduced mortality could lead to increased demand from commercial farmers.
A Long-term Transition
Most insect-based pet foods in the US are developed for dogs, using black soldier fly ingredients. After its approval by the Association of American Feed Control Officials in 2022, it became the first insect protein legally recognised for use in adult dog food. Formal approval for dried crickets in dog food was given in January, with mealworms receiving tentative approval in the same month. No insect proteins have been approved for use in cat food, although discussions continue on this issue.
Despite the current focus on pet food, Sean Warner remains hopeful that insects will eventually become a staple of human diets, although he believes this is likely a decades-long process.
Jarrod Goldin, co-founder of Ontario-based Entomo Farms, was disappointed that insect products have not seen greater adoption in human diets over the past decade. While the company holds out hope for this, currently about 70% of its cricket production is used for pet food.
However, many people seem more willing to switch to insect-based pet food as a resistance against the culture of feeding their pets unnatural diets of corn and soy, according to Aly Moore, the chief communications officer at Oregon-based Chapul Farms.
Moore states, “It just makes too much sense to feed insects to animals that don’t care if they’re eating bugs in the same way that humans do.” The majority of Chapul Farms’ sales come from black soldier fly larvae-based animal feed and fertilizer, with human-grade cricket powder only accounting for 5% to 10% of total sales. — Bloomberg
FOR their first attempt at making food from insects, Sean Warner and Patrick Pittaluga started with a bug burger.
Their patty, which combined black beans with black soldier fly larvae, was cooked up at their Georgia Tech apartment not long after the United Nations had published an influential 2013 report that touted insects as the future of food, a natural resource that could help with rising meat costs and climate concerns as the global population grows.
But the bug burger didn’t taste great, and before long, the entrepreneurs steered their Grubbly Farms brand to focus on insect-based food for dogs and chickens.
The pivot from feeding humans to furry and feathered creatures was a practical adaptation to what many startups and established brands have seen in their attempts to build a market for these ingredients: Whatever the environmental good, people just aren’t yet willing to eat bugs. But they are perfectly happy to feed the critters to their pets.
Food for animals is fuelling demand for insect protein, which could jump 4,900% from 2021 to half a million metric tons by the end of the decade, according to a Rabobank report.
Those prospects for growth have drawn venture capitalists to the fledgling industry. Investors plowed US$76.77mil (RM365mil) into insect-based food companies in 2022 and another US$14.92mil (RM70.9mil) last year, according to PitchBook data. Mark Cuban and Robert Downey Jr are among the investors who have put money into insect protein companies.
The startups face a tricky balancing act as they try to create demand for their products – one that has led them away from catering to human diners.
“Being too early is just as risky as being too late,” says Phil Poirier, co-founder of Montreal-based Wilder Harrier, whose products include cricket dog snacks and black soldier fly dry food.
Health-minded appeals
Diners have proven a tough crowd for insect-protein evangelists. Only a quarter of consumers in the United States are willing to incorporate insect ingredients into their regular diet, according to a 2021 YouGov survey that had a similar finding for key European markets like Germany and the United Kingdom.
The reticence reflects that some people are unsettled by the idea of eating bugs – but also the challenge that insect proteins aren’t yet filling a specific taste or nutritional void.
“Outside of sustainability, in the human food application, edible insects aren’t exactly solving a clear pain point,” says Alessandro Di Trapani, the co-founder of insect dog food maker Grub Club Pets.
That has left the animal market as much more fertile territory. Pet food made with crickets and black soldier fly larvae is sold by major retailers including Petco and Chewy.
Tyson Foods announced a partnership in October with insect supplier Protix to build a facility in the US to make insect proteins and fats to be used in pet food and animal agriculture. Mars Inc sells dry cat food made with black soldier fly larvae in the UK.
Insect-based foods have caught on in pet aisles with product descriptions that appeal to health-minded shoppers, including saying that the food doesn’t trigger dog’s allergies and is good for sensitive stomachs.
Anne Carlson, the founder of Jiminy’s cricket-based pet food, saw a stronger business model – and potential for greater environmental impact – in feeding canines.
“Dogs eat the same thing every day, and if you swap it with a sustainable alternative, you basically get all of their eating occasions,” says Carlson, who makes dog food, treats and dental chews.
“That’s not the case for people. Best-case scenario, maybe I get your breakfast every day with a bar.”
So far, pet food has driven the volume growth in the insect protein market, said Gorjan Nikolik, a senior analyst at Rabobank who co-authored the report on the segment’s potential.
But he expects rapid change: Once more research is conducted and larger-scale production lowers prices, Nikolik sees aquaculture becoming the biggest buyer of insect proteins, using them as feed for fish and other seafood. Pet food, however, is still expected to account for about 30% of demand in 2030, he said.
Most livestock and farmed fish are still fed traditional soy or fishmeal, which is cheaper than insect feed. As researchers assess whether insects can have “functional benefits” like supporting faster growth or a lower mortality rate, Nikolik said demand from commercial farmers or those feed products could increase.
‘Multi-decade process’
Many insect-based pet foods in the US are black soldier fly products for dogs. That’s because the ingredient was the first insect protein to be formally approved for use in adult dogs by the Association of American Feed Control Officials in 2022. The association doesn’t regulate products, but the designation means the ingredient has been deemed safe and effective by the association and the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, according to AAFCO executive director Austin Therrell.
Dried crickets received formal approval for use in adult dog food in January, and mealworms received tentative approval the same month. No insects are approved in cat diets, though discussions have taken place surrounding black soldier fly larvae, Therrell said.
Meanwhile, the industry hasn’t given up on one day feeding masses of people.
Even though Grubbly Farms never proceeded with its insect burger patty, co-founder Warner maintains that “a chef could have spiced them up a bit” and made them tasty enough to market. He is still hopeful insects will become a mainstay of human diets, though he thinks that will be a “multi-decade process.”
Jarrod Goldin, who co-founded Ontario-based Entomo Farms in 2014, said he had hoped the adoption by humans of insect products “would have been more meaningful” after a decade. The company still believes it will happen, but for now, about 70% of the crickets it grows go toward pet food.
At this point, people find it easier to purchase insect-based food when they see it as a way to “combat” a culture of feeding corn and soy to animals that don’t naturally eat those ingredients, said Aly Moore, the chief communications officer at Oregon-based Chapul Farms.
The company primarily sells black soldier fly products to be used as animal feed and fertiliser. Its human-grade cricket powder only accounts for 5% to 10% of sales.
“It just makes too much sense to feed insects to animals that don’t care if they’re eating bugs in the same way that humans do,” Moore said. — Bloomberg