Paris-based insect protein supplier, InnovaFeed, has secured EUR 15 million in funding through a range of equity and individual investors to launch a production site “10 times” larger that its first plant launched in 2017.
The investors — AlterEquity3P, Finovam Gestion, Nord Création, Nord France Amorçage and several entrepreneurs — agreed to help InnovaFeed “accelerate product commercialization and contribute to the growth of a sustainable food industry”, a statement said.
The backdrop of the enterprise is a new regulatory framework in Europe that’ll allow insects to be used as protein in aquaculture from 2018. Today, the Continent imports 80 percent of its crop protein, most of which is soya meal.
InnovaFeed anticipates a “growing global deficit in high quality proteins (60 million tons by 2030). The company focus is on the protein for feed made by the insect Hermitia Illucens, also known as the black soldier fly.
“By offering a natural, healthy new ingredient for fish feed, InnovaFeed wishes to contribute to the rise of sustainable aquaculture and to the preservation of oceanic resources,” a statement said, adding that “fish stocks will not be sufficient to meet the growing needs of aquaculture”.
InnovaFeed’s insects are fed by-products from the agro-industry, the company said, a nod to supply security.
