Tallinn-based FlyFeed, an insect farming startup, announced that it has raised approximately €3M in a seed round of funding from angel investors.
The Estonian company’s advisory board has over 35 experts, including Dr. Nathalie Berezina (ex-CTO/CSO Ynsect), Dr. Jurek Pastuszak (nutrition expert), and Dmitriy Mikhailov (associate professor at the National University of Singapore).
The company also partners with world-leading engineering teams like Christof Global Impact.
FlyFeed says it will use the funds to establish operations, develop technological solutions and construct the first industrial-sized farm in Vietnam in 2023.
The company also reports that the Vietnamese government supports its initiative, allowing the startup to use organic waste as feed and providing land for the first factory.
Operations will commence with producing insect protein and fat from black soldier flies (BSF) for animal feed and pet food. FlyFeed also intends to produce insect flour for human food by 2027.
The first factory is expected to produce 17.5+ thousand tonnes of insect products per year, including insect fat, protein flour, and fertilizers, and process 40+ thousand tonnes of organic leftovers for BSF feed gathered and processed for free through a partnership with local authorities.
The company is also committed to processing up to 40 thousand tonnes of organic waste a year, which will come from fruits, vegetables, coffee, and grain.
By doing so, they will add an estimated 200 new jobs in the region.
Founded by Arseniy Olkhovskiy in 2021, FlyFeed aims to address the problem through insect farming by producing insect protein, fat, and fertilizers from black soldier fly for animal feed and pet food and, in the future, for human food.
The company aims to have 10+ farms in Vietnam, India, and Africa by 2026. The company aims to compete with giants like Ynsect and Protix.
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