- Some insect startups in Southeast Asia have pivoted from human food to ingredients like chitosan.
- This avoids regulatory struggles for insect foods.
- Companies aim to build an ecosystem extracting maximum value from insects.
Insect startups shift focus
Frustrations in the insect-for-food sector have sparked a pivot among some regional startups.
They now focus on producing insect-derived ingredients for health supplements and animal feed instead of human consumption.
Insectta began in 2018 as a black soldier fly farm making animal feed and fertilizer in Singapore. It shifted to extracting materials like chitosan and melanin from fly cocoon shells in 2019, seeing more potential in those markets.
The biomaterials have wide applications in healthcare, electronics, and cosmetics. Insectta aims to scale up its pilot facility this year.
Malaysia’s Nutrition Technologies produces protein and oil from black soldier flies, exporting mainly to Asia for aquaculture and Europe for pet food.
Biomaterials: a new direction
It raised US$20 million in 2022.
The pivot avoids struggles faced by startups awaiting regulatory approval to sell insect-based foods here. Approval, expected last year, has been delayed, putting companies in limbo.
Some are now expanding abroad while still awaiting the Singapore green light.
Investors remain cautiously optimistic, seeing more potential in higher-value biomaterials than in low-cost foods with uncertain local demand.
Overcoming regulatory hurdles
Companies are establishing Singapore’s lead in extracting valuable insect ingredients over food. They hope producing materials for medicine, electronics, and more will realize the sector’s potential.
Despite food setbacks, opportunities remain in the long run.
The roadblocks for insect food have pushed startups down new paths. Their ingredient focus aligns better with Singapore’s strengths in R&D and advanced manufacturing.
By extracting maximum value from insects, companies aim to nurture a thriving ecosystem and new economy.
You can also read the original story in its entirety on https://www.techinasia.com/frustrations-insectforfood-space-spark-sector-pivot?ref=featured-subex-5.
