AgriProtein

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]

AgriProtein
TypePrivate
IndustryInsect industry, feed manufacturing
Founded2008
HeadquartersGuildford, England, UK
Websitehttps://agriprotein.com

Products
Black soldier fly larvae

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

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
  1. "AgriProtein parent company ITG entered administration in February | SeafoodSource". www.seafoodsource.com.
  2. "Insect Technology Group, AgriProtein parent company, in administration in the UK". feednavigator.com.
  3. Aryn Baker (16 April 2015). "How One South African Entrepreneur Hopes to Make Millions From Maggots". Time.
  4. Emily Thomas (22 September 2017). "Could maggots save global food supplies?" (video, 2 mins 56 secs). BBC News.
  5. Owen Evans (12 July 2018). "Are flies the future of sustainable salmon feed?". Salmon Business.
  6. Liam Kelly (23 June 2018). "Fly farmer AgriProtein's £80m to spread wings". The Times.
  7. Andrea Lo (27 September 2018) [September 20, 2018]. "Two brothers want to revolutionize the food industry with maggots". CNN.
  8. Sue Grant-Marshall (14 March 2017). "Working with nature to help feed the world". BusinessDay.
  9. Dan Anthony (5 June 2018). "International innovation: how inventiveness can save the world" (blog). Intellectual Property Office, United Kingdom.
  10. Irma Venter (11 August 2017). "AgriProtein assessing two new fly-farming sites in South Africa". Engineering News.co.za.
  11. "About Us". AgriProtein. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  12. "AgriProtein and Christof Industries in $10 Million Deal to Roll Out 100 Fly Farms". Food Ingredients First. 13 February 2017.
  13. Elizabeth Green (5 June 2018). "AgriProtein secures US$105m investment in insect protein sector". Food Ingredients First.
  14. Louisa Burwood-Taylor (4 June 2018). "AgriProtein Raises $105m for Insect Farms". AgFunder News.
  15. Jane Byrne (3 December 2018). "AgriProtein buys Belgian insect protein producer". Feed Navigator.
  16. "AgriProtein (UK) acquires insect firm Millibeter". Flanders Investment & Trade. 12 December 2018.
  17. Rob Fletcher (22 September 2017). "Insect meal pioneer scoops BBC Food & Farming Award". The Fish Site.
  18. Emily Thomas (20 September 2017). "The Maggot Masters". The Food Chain (audio, 27 mins). BBC World Service.
  19. "Feed firm AgriProtein named a 'Time genius'". Undercurrent News. 5 October 2018.
  20. "Genius Companies 2018: AgriProtein: Turning waste into food". Time. October 2018.
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