News in brief: Cricket One, a Vietnamese edible insect startup, has opened Asia’s largest cricket processing facility with $1 million in Series A funding. The facility aims to process 1,000 metric tons of crickets initially, expanding to 10,000 tons over five years, targeting both human and pet food markets.
Vietnamese edible insect startup Cricket One has opened what it claims is Asia’s largest cricket processing facility, after raising $1 million in a Series A funding round.
The round was led by Singapore-based investor Robert Alexander Stone and supported by Cub Capital along with a Singapore-based family office.
The new facility, in Binh Phuoc, north of Saigon, will initially process 1,000 metric tons of crickets per year, increasing to 10,000 tons over the next five years, a news coverage says.
While other edible insect companies, such as Ÿnsect (mealworms) and Innovafeed (black soldier flies), have historically focused on animal feed markets, and Aspire (crickets) is primarily targeting the North American petfood industry, Cricket One is targeting both human and petfood markets with cricket protein powders, textured cricket meat, cricket snacks, and supplements.
Analysts told the news outlet that this is a significant step for the edible insect industry, as it shows that there is growing interest in using crickets as a sustainable and nutritious source of protein for humans and animals alike.
Cricket One’s new facility is also a major investment in the Vietnamese economy, and it is likely to create jobs and boost the agricultural sector.
The edible insect industry is still in its early stages of development, but it is growing rapidly. It is likely that more companies like Cricket One will emerge and invest in the industry, given the rising rate of awareness and benefits of cricket consumption.
Edible insects have the potential to play a major role in the future of food production. They can help to address the growing global challenge of food security, while also reducing environmental impact.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) has always encouraged people to get over their ‘distaste’ of insects consumption. It suggests that it could be part of the larger solution humans need to solve growing food demand in a world where there is water shortage, overfished oceans and climate change. Mass-rearing edible insects is a more sustainable practice than reliance of gathering them from their forest habitats.
