Maple Leaf Foods invests in insect protein

Entomo Farms, North America’s largest insect farm for human consumption, announced on April 11 that it raised Series A funding from Maple Leaf Foods, Canada’s largest protein consumer packaged goods company. A company press release noted that Entomo Farms, founded in 2014, is providing a nutritious and sustainable alternative to traditional meat protein with its cricket and mealworm powders and whole roasted insects. The company has grown to 60,000 square feet of production space and supplies its insect protein ingredients to dozens of food companies around the world that are meeting consumer demand for alternative proteins and more diversity in their diets. “From our first meeting with Maple Leaf Foods, we were impressed with their commitment to environmental sustainability, their expertise with scale farming, and their track record in marketing to consumers. These funds will allow us to expand production to meet increasing demand while Maple Leaf’s knowledge will help us continue to meet the needs of large food producers as we grow,” said Jarrod Goldin, president and cofounder of Entomo Farms. — WLJ