Inseco

Sustainable Insect Protein 

Our innovation has the ability to address several problems, which are listed below.  

1) The 2013 world population of 7.2 billion people is set to increase to 9.6 billion in 2050. Several studies have shown that global crop production needs to double by 2050 to meet the projected increases from rising populations and dietary shifts. However, due to limited land availability (currently 78% of all available agricultural land worldwide is under permanent use), there is likely to be a substantial shortfall in livestock and crop production.

2) Waste management in South Africa, as well as many other developing regions around the world, face numerous challenges, with the main concern being that growing populations lead to increases in waste generation. This places immense pressure on waste management facilities, which are already in short supply.

3) Fishmeal and soy meal are the two primary protein ingredients used to feed pets, poultry and farmed fish. Given that fishmeal is declining rapidly as a source of feed and the sustainability of long-term supply is questioned, the search for alternative and sustainable proteins is of major importance. As feed accounts for approximately 70% of input costs for livestock farmers, these higher feed prices translate to higher food prices for consumers.  

4) The environmental impacts of commercial fishmeal and soymeal farming are substantial. When forests and other valuable ecosystems are cleared for soybean plantations, forests and vegetation are lost. Overfishing has instigated widespread and severe biodiversity loss.  

At Inseco, we have developed a technologically innovative way to manufacture cost-effective and environmentally sustainable animal protein. Using Black Solider Flies (BSF), we overcome the above-mentioned pricing and environmental limitations of conventional animal feed production. A variety of waste streams (restaurant, household, supermarket etc.) are fed to BSF larvae that then consume and breakdown the waste during their growth cycle. They are then carefully processed and used as a novel cost-effective substitute for fishmeal and soymeal.

This unique process utilizes organic waste as its primary input; thereby reducing our government’s current waste management burden. In addition to this, BSF manufacturing is also environmentally sustainable. It has a 7000% higher land-to-protein productivity than that of soy and is 66% less energy intensive than fishmeal production. Additionally, all by-products are sold, resulting in a zero-waste system.

We have a pilot facility in Cape Town, South Africa, where we are breeding and manufacturing our BSF protein. We have also designed a prototype of a decentralized BSF processing facility. The prototype is scalable and has been designed to be as affordable as possible. We have numerous interested customers but require some additional funding to setup the prototype. The prototype will have the ability to process a variety of different waste streams at their source, removing the logistical burden of transporting waste from source to landfill. The affordable design will save waste generators a considerable amount every month on disposal, as well as providing a sustainable source of fishmeal and soymeal replacement to local farmers. 

Insect protein production as an animal feed is a burgeoning industry. At present, there is small collective of firms scattered sparsely across the world - there is only one company in Africa producing on a commercial scale.

Our decentralized Black Soldier Fly processing technology is, however, an extension of this and is one of the first of its kind. Other manufacturers rely on waste to be transported to centralized facilities. At Inseco, we are able to save significant resources on waste transportation by transporting BSF to the waste source from our breeding facility, instead of the other way around. 

Breeding and rearing the Black Soldier Fly indoors requires sophisticated monitoring of their abiotic environment. Temperature, humidity, substrate pH levels and light intensity are among the few variables that we have to control. Additionally, the production process required several months of research to design. The decentralized aspect of our business requires real-time remote-monitoring of important variables to ensure that the off-site environments are optimal. As a result, technology is an integral component of our solution. We are continually dedicating resources to ensure that all aspects of our process are optimized and functioning efficiently.

Over the next 6 months, we want to setup our decentralized BSF prototype at a carefully chosen location, which we already have permission to do. We will then dedicate the following 6 months to monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the process functions efficiently.

Additionally, we plan to use the following 12 months to optimize our existing breeding facility. We also plan to marginally increase the size of this facility to demonstrate its functionality in the industrially relevant environment – i.e. to ensure that the process runs smoothly at slightly larger outputs. 

We hope to install several of our BSF units throughout South Africa in the next 3 years, and then expand throughout Southern Africa thereafter.

Southern Africa is a developing region, with an increasingly important need to provide waste disposal technologies. Our aim to assist these regions with an innovative waste disposal technology. Additionally, many of these nations are also agricultural economies, with a strong reliance on livestock production. However, as the prices of fishmeal and soymeal continue to climb, these economies may suffer. We hope to use our technology to provide a cost-effective feed solution to these regions. 

Animal feed accounts for 70% of input costs for farmers. As a result, when the price of fishmeal and soymeal increase (as was the case during 2016/7), farmers are placed under economic duress. We have ascertained that our BSF protein is commercially viable (i.e. profitable) at 15% below the current price of fishmeal. Fish and chicken farmers, pet food manufacturers as well as young ruminant farmers will all be able to secure nutritious feed at an affordable and consistent price. Additionally, our technology will reduce governments’ existing landfill burdens, and remedy the various problems associated with inefficient waste disposal. 

We do not yet have the capacity to absorb large quantities of organic waste from our area. Our existing facility has the capacity to utilize 4 tonnes of pre-consumer waste per month. Whilst this is a modest figure, is has been sufficient for us to demonstrate our product in the industrially relevant environment.

Currently, we are only selling to local pet stores. We sell live larvae to these stores, who then sell the larvae to various animal owners. We have done this to bolster our cashflow in the interim until we can produce larger quantities for our interested commercial buyers.

Once we have setup our prototype in the next 6 months, we will be able to manufacture larger quantities of our product. This will allow us to sell our product to various aquaculture and poultry farmers in our area. These farmers will receive a well-priced, sustainable and nutritious alternative to fishmeal and soymeal. Unlike fishmeal and soymeal, our product is manufactured in climate-controlled conditions, and is therefore not susceptible to weather-induced volatility. Farmers can therefore rely on a consistently priced product. The resultant effects are better livelihoods for farmers, and cheaper food for consumers. 

Jack Chennells – director and co-founder: Master’s degree (commercial law). Jack ensures that all financial, compliance and legal aspects of the business are efficiently managed. Simon Hazell – director and co-founder: Honors degree (Economics). Simon oversees that production process and ensures that the manufacturing process is optimized. Saadiek Rosenburg – Production manager: Saadiek has extensive experience in insect mass-rearing, working for the Department of Agriculture for several years. He oversees product testing. Matthew Chennells, Jason Fairhurst, Sibusisiwe Maseko: Consultants who have financial, mechanical engineering and chemical engineering master’s degrees who have consulted on various aspects of the business. 

Waste beneficiation is the first step in the industry value chain that Inseco occupies. As we are diverting waste streams from landfill, we charge a fee (between $20 and $35) for every tonne we use.

Product Sales are the second value chain component. Our first type of customers are pet food manufactures as well as fish, poultry and young ruminant farmers. We will sell our product directly to these buyers, who will then sell their insect-fed livestock to various end-users.

As our system generates no waste, by-product sales are the third value chain component. Compost, generated post production, will be sold to composting companies. Insect fat, centrifugally separated during processing, will be sold to pharmaceutical companies, food processers and feed formulators. Jointly, the sale of these two by-products account for 30-40% of our gross revenue.

The fourth and the final step in the industry value chain that we occupy relates to the decentralized units we plan to distribute.

Due to municipal waste becoming an ever-present concern, and the price of fishmeal and soymeal increasing, we believe our business has the means to profitably solve a variety of market-related concerns, rendering it eligible for considerable expansion. 

We believe Inseco has the ability to make a noticeable impact on our oceans and environment at large. We hope to move the emission-intensive animal feed industry towards carbon-neutrality whilst closing the loop on waste in the food value-chain.

Solve offer’s a diverse network of similar individuals who hope to make a difference. As Inseco is a youth-owned and run company with sustainable development as its foundation, we feel we would be able to significantly benefit from these networks, as well as the potential for collaboration with the other like-minded individuals on the program. 

Access to capital: In order for Inseco to demonstrate its commercial potential, we require some additional funding to setup our decentralized prototype. The breeding aspect of the business model is already established and has been funded by the co-founders and a grant from the Bertha Foundation. If we are selected as finalists, and given access to the grant funds, we will be able to demonstrate the functionality of the decentralized business model in the industrially relevant environment.

Development Assistance: If we are able to demonstrate our product’s commercial viability, we will require business development assistance in rolling it out.