April 7, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Estimates are that as much as a third of all arable land on Earth is used to make animal feed. This has traditionally been in the form of unsustainable soy and other crops that are largely responsible for deforestation at their point of production, and for significant carbon emissions due to their long distance transport. 

UK-based agritech startup Better Origin wants to help fix a broken food supply chain by leveraging AI-powered mini insect farms to bring it from global to local.  Through this hyperlocal approach, the company takes food waste from local supermarkets, converting it into high quality animal feed in the form of insect larvae.

Although still far from being mainstream in Western cultures, the numerous benefits of sourcing protein from insects – namely, high conversion rates, the need for less processing compared to plant protein, and being more palatable compared to algae – paired with the EU Commission’s approval of insect-derived protein for inclusion in aquaculture feed rations on December 13, 2016 – has prompted a range of startups in the space and interest from the investment universe. 

This is particularly the case in regard to fish and poultry, which are natural insectivores; larvae poses a more natural source of protein than soymeal or other plant-based feed components, while insect larvae also provides a greater ability to meet the growing demand for protein in the face of the static supply of plant-based sources, or the environmentally damaging practice of source protein from wild-caught fish, as demand from the aquaculture industry for fishmeal and fish oil is expected to outpace supply.

But on top of replacing traditional forms of animal feed proteins, Better Origin is also looking to shift where their alternative protein originates from by using shipping containers to decentralize the supply chain, reverting to a localized system. Through this system the startup has tackled both a lack of sustainability in the system as well as an inherent lack of security in global food supply chains.

To fund the advancement of this idea, the company has secured $16 million through a Series A led by UK investor Balderton Capital, and including existing investors Fly Ventures and Metavallon VC, bringing total funding to-date to $19 million. 

“The food chain is fundamentally broken and it’s putting the future of our food security at risk,” said Miha Pipan, founder and CSO, Better Origin. “We’ve built a solution that aims to finally fix these flaws from the inside out.”

“Insect larvae are nature’s mechanism to convert waste back into essential nutrients in the food chain. They act as the missing link between waste and food. We reduce waste and increase food production by bringing back this link,” explained Pipan. “We believe our solution is the future of food production and the latest round of funding takes us a step closer to this future.”

Called the X1, the startup’s mini farms are automated and easily installed on individual farms. Cameras, computer vision, and sensors monitor interior conditions of each mini-farm to ensure that they are operating at optimal conditions for production. Their plug-and-play nature allows for the formation of networks to make the system and its benefits instantly scalable.

“Beyond enabling us to scale up operations and expand our team, the deep understanding and expertise that Balderton brings makes it the perfect Series A partner,” said Fotis Fotiadis, CEO, Better Origin. “It was of vital importance when raising our Series A, as it was when we raised our Seed, to find partners that truly believe in our mission and ambition.”

The capital gained through this round will enable the company to expand its team as it continues to actively recruit in the areas of engineering, biology, marketing, and operations. The funding also will be used to further its product development, its technology, and to achieve scale. Currently, its mini-farms are concentrated on poultry farms, however, in time, plans include expanding into new livestock verticals, and eventually, into human food.

“Fotis, Miha and the Better Origin team are working to fundamentally change our broken food chain, for the benefit of everyone,” said Suranga Chandratillake, general partner, Balderton.

“Climate change, the pandemic, political tensions and our growing population have demonstrated time and again how fragile our current systems are. They’ve also shown how farming currently exacerbates the challenges we face and solutions so far are not leading to the wholesale change we need,” concluded Chandratillake. “Better Origin presents a new approach and we believe it can have a transformational effect on food and farming systems.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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