AgriProtein
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Insect industry, feed manufacturing |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Guildford, England, UK |
| Website | https://agriprotein.com |
AgriProtein is a British agricultural and biotechnology company that uses insects to convert food waste into sustainable products including: an alternative protein for use in livestock and aquaculture feed, a natural oil for use in animal feed, and an organic soil enhancer. The company was founded in 2008 in South Africa.[1] AgriProtein is a subsidiary of the Insect Technology Group.[2]
Products[edit]
Currently, AgriProtein breeds black soldier fly larvae on food waste from a variety of sources including restaurants and supermarkets. After they pupate, the larvae are processed into MagMeal - a sustainable, high quality protein that can be fed to all monogastric animals such as chickens, pigs, fish[3][4][5] and pets.[6] The company also produces an oil (MagOil) that can be used in aquaculture and pet food. MagOil is an alternative to less-sustainable oils such as palm oil. The company also produces an organic soil conditioning product called MagSoil.[7][8]
History[edit]
AgriProtein was founded in 2008 to provide an ecologically sound replacement for fishmeal, which is increasingly expensive because of the depletion of fish stocks.[5][9] The AgriProtein process is noteworthy in that it diverts organic waste from landfills.[10] After consultation with a researcher at Stellenbosch University, a presentation at Tedx in 2011, and approximately five years of development, the company opened its first commercial factory in 2015[10][9] in Philippi,[11] near Cape Town International Airport. They received $11 million in initial investment funding,[3] including two grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[7]
Under a partnership instituted in February 2017 with Christof Industries, an Austrian engineering company, AgriProtein plans to establish standardised industrial-scale factories globally.[7][8][10][12] In 2018, they raised $105 million in funding,[6][7][13] the 18th largest recorded agricultural technology deal[5] and the largest in the insect farming sector at the time,[14] and agreed to buy Millibeter, a Belgian company in Turnhout.[15][16]
They were awarded the 2013 United Nations Innovation Prize for Africa,[9] have won the Australian Government's Blue Economy Challenge,[9] were named a Global Cleantech 100 company in both 2017 and 2018,[13] in 2017 were the first Food Chain Global Champion in the BBC Food & Farming Awards,.[9][17][18] They were also included in Time's first annual list of "top 50 Genius Companies" in 2018.[19][20]
AgriProtein have licensees worldwide and research centres studying fly genetics, insect breeding, and production of antibiotics for feed from larval proteins.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ "AgriProtein parent company ITG entered administration in February | SeafoodSource". www.seafoodsource.com.
- ^ "Insect Technology Group, AgriProtein parent company, in administration in the UK". feednavigator.com.
- ^ a b Aryn Baker (16 April 2015). "How One South African Entrepreneur Hopes to Make Millions From Maggots". Time.
- ^ Emily Thomas (22 September 2017). "Could maggots save global food supplies?" (video, 2 mins 56 secs). BBC News.
- ^ a b c Owen Evans (12 July 2018). "Are flies the future of sustainable salmon feed?". Salmon Business.
- ^ a b Liam Kelly (23 June 2018). "Fly farmer AgriProtein's £80m to spread wings". The Times.
- ^ a b c d Andrea Lo (27 September 2018) [September 20, 2018]. "Two brothers want to revolutionize the food industry with maggots". CNN.
- ^ a b c Sue Grant-Marshall (14 March 2017). "Working with nature to help feed the world". BusinessDay.
- ^ a b c d e Dan Anthony (5 June 2018). "International innovation: how inventiveness can save the world" (blog). Intellectual Property Office, United Kingdom.
- ^ a b c Irma Venter (11 August 2017). "AgriProtein assessing two new fly-farming sites in South Africa". Engineering News.co.za.
- ^ "About Us". AgriProtein. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "AgriProtein and Christof Industries in $10 Million Deal to Roll Out 100 Fly Farms". Food Ingredients First. 13 February 2017.
- ^ a b Elizabeth Green (5 June 2018). "AgriProtein secures US$105m investment in insect protein sector". Food Ingredients First.
- ^ Louisa Burwood-Taylor (4 June 2018). "AgriProtein Raises $105m for Insect Farms". AgFunder News.
- ^ Jane Byrne (3 December 2018). "AgriProtein buys Belgian insect protein producer". Feed Navigator.
- ^ "AgriProtein (UK) acquires insect firm Millibeter". Flanders Investment & Trade. 12 December 2018.
- ^ Rob Fletcher (22 September 2017). "Insect meal pioneer scoops BBC Food & Farming Award". The Fish Site.
- ^ Emily Thomas (20 September 2017). "The Maggot Masters". The Food Chain (audio, 27 mins). BBC World Service.
- ^ "Feed firm AgriProtein named a 'Time genius'". Undercurrent News. 5 October 2018.
- ^ "Genius Companies 2018: AgriProtein: Turning waste into food". Time. October 2018.