Fly farmer rebrands as it spreads its wings
Fly farmer AgriProtein, which is focused on producing insect-based protein for use in aquaculture feed, is rebranding its holding company as Insect Technology Group (ITG).
The company said to move would minimise brand confusion as it expanded its insect technology solutions and applied these to a variety of organic substrates in different markets.
There will be five brands operating in four different categories under the ITG banner.
AgriProtein will continue to operate under its current name and maintain its focus on converting post-consumer food substrates into products for the aquaculture industry.
Pre-consumer waste
Circular Organics is the new operational brand for ITG’s traceable pre-consumer waste businesses, which will lead the company’s expansion into the EU, where rules on what can be fed to flies are stricter. ITG’s recently acquired Belgian operation, Millibeter will operate under this structure.
MultiCycle Technologies will be the new parent brand for ITG’s higher risk substrate businesses that recycle abattoir waste, animal manure, and The BioCycle, its South African faecal sludge business.
ITG Biopolymers is the group’s advanced biochemistry brand for the group business based between its new Asian regional hub in Singapore and research centre in Belgium. The company was established to centrally process high-value insect derived products, including chitin and fatty acids, from various ITG operational subsidiaries.
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ITG expects to break ground on five insect-protein factories by the end of next year. In an update, the company said: “We are building pre-deployment units in the EU, Asia and the US. These will support regional factory clusters, enabling local fly colony build-up, substrate testing and biology support.”
The company does not yet produce insect-protein in Europe to supply aquafeed manufacturers, but said AgriProtein had established a joint venture with Dutch company Sustainable Protein B.V. to develop a series of factories in the Benelux region.
“We have secured an option on a 10,000m² building in the Netherlands, and we expect the site to be commissioned by the end of 2019,” stated ITG.
“A second facility is under late-stage evaluation and will also break ground next year. Together with Millibeter we will work on building further capacity in the Benelux region under our Circular Organics brand.”
