The Nutrition Technologies company, which secured $28 million in funding, specializes in producing animal feed and fertilizers that contain a simple and unusual component: black soldier fly.
Exploiting the Opportunity in Agricultural Technology
Flies and other insects are typically seen as sources of disease, decay, and death. From the perspective of Nutrition Technologies – which is on this year’s Forbes Asia 100 Watchlist – the negative image surrounding flies and other insects is exactly why it is an untapped opportunity in agricultural technology, also known as ag-tech.
“People approach insects with a lot of baggage, fear, and disgust,” says Martin Zurella, CEO of Nutrition Technologies, in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Singapore. “We leverage the fact that society has ignored these creatures and instead take a very close look at them and realize how wonderful they are at what they do.”
Innovative Products for Animal Feed and Fertilizers
Founded in 2015, Nutrition Technologies transforms black soldier fly larvae into nutritional supplements for animal feed and fertilizers. Its products include Hi.Protein, a protein powder used in pet food, aquaculture feed, and feed for chickens and pigs, and Vitalis, a liquid fertilizer that the company claims can prevent fungal diseases and improve plant health.
The company primarily operates a two-hectare factory across the border in Malaysia, looking to bolster its expansion in the country and move into new markets in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Strong Investments and Strategic Partnerships
Investors are flocking to Nutrition Technologies, which has raised a total of $28 million so far, including a $20 million funding round in 2022 led by the venture capital arm of Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas company PTT. In June, U.S. agricultural giant Bunge invested an undisclosed amount in the company, as part of a joint partnership to expand in Southeast Asia. Two months prior, in April, the company signed a partnership with Japanese trading company Sumitomo, which committed to import and sell 30,000 tons of fish feed from Nutrition Technologies by 2030.
Other past investors of Nutrition Technologies include Hera Capital, Openspace Ventures, and SEEDS Capital, which is an investment arm of Enterprise Singapore.
Challenges and Opportunities in the Animal Feed Industry
Nutrition Technologies faces challenges in improving product efficiency and quality, and contends with competition from other companies in the same field aiming to expand in Southeast Asia. These include Entobel, which focuses on aquaculture feed and raised $30 million in a funding round last May, and Insect Feed Technologies, which raised $1.25 million in a seed funding round to develop fish feed and food for black soldier flies. Other European companies in this sector have also announced plans to expand into Southeast Asia.
Regulations regarding the use of insects in animal feed vary significantly around the world, posing challenges for manufacturers. In the U.S., authorities prevent pet food, fish bait, and animal feed producers from importing live black soldier flies for use in their products, though they can apply to import locusts, larvae, and other insects. Currently, black soldier flies cannot be used for feeding livestock intended for human consumption, but they can be used for pets, such as dog food. Animal feed manufacturers in the EU and the UK are allowed to include animal by-products, including insects, in their products, even for livestock intended for human consumption, but these insects cannot be fed any waste containing animal residues, according to legislative reforms from 2021. Scientific regulations concerning insect farming are still uncertain, as some academics question the ethics of insect farming when there is no scientific consensus on whether insects are capable of feeling pain.
Expansion
Production and Improving Food Security
The Nutrition Technologies company plans to unveil several new bio-fertilizers derived from black soldier flies next year, based on its latest product line Diptia. The company claims that the bio-fertilizers contain insect chitin, which can stimulate plants’ immune systems. Additionally, Nutrition Technologies aims to raise “a mix of debt and equity” as capital to begin construction of a second industrial plant in 2024, which Perry says will be three times larger than its current facility.
“In five years, I hope we have a network of different Nutrition Technologies plants in the region… supporting local economies and improving food security,” says Perry. “This is what we feel passionate about, and this is what we want to see happen here in Southeast Asia first, before we can expand to other areas around the world.”
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