InnovaFeed

InnovaFeed SAS, a French biotechnology company founded in 2016, develops innovative large-scale insect-breeding and -processing processes. It sells ingredients derived from insects for animal nutrition and in particular aquaculture.

InnovaFeed
TypeSimplified joint-stock company
Industryinsect industry, feed manufacturing
Founded2016
FounderClément Ray, Aude Guo, Guillaume Gras and Bastien Oggeri
HeadquartersNesle (80), France
Websitehttps://innovafeed.com/en/

Through to the production of a new source of quality, natural and competitive protein, InnovaFeed aims to participate in the development of sustainable aquaculture.[1][2] According to the SOFIA report, it is expected that by 2030, production from capture fisheries and aquaculture will increase to 201 million tons/year, an 18-percent increase from the current level of production of 171 million tones/year. This sector requires an increasing supply of proteins and lipids adapted to the nutritional needs of fish.[3][4]

InnovaFeed has the objective of setting up local production systems. This is made possible by the exclusive use of agricultural by-products to feed its insects, generating no additional impact on natural resources consumption.[5][6] In addition, insect droppings are valued as organic fertilizers.[7][8]

History

Creation

InnovaFeed was created in 2016 by 4 engineers, Clément Ray, Guillaume Gras, Aude Guo and Bastien Oggeri, whose objective was to find alternatives feedstocks. Today, Clément Ray, Bastien Oggeri and Aude Guo are running the company.

Industrial deployment

In June 2016,  InnovaFeed joined a scientific hub called Évry's Genopole, which enabled it to pursue several research and development projects and to develop its technology.[9] Since October 2017, it has been operating a pilot production unit located near Gouzeaucourt (France 59) in the Cambrésis region to validate its industrial scale processes and to start commercializing its products.

On 27 September 2018, InnovaFeed publicly announced the construction of a new  production site in Nesle with a capacity of 10,000 tons of insect protein per year.[10] This future production unit will be implemented next to the Tereos Group's starch manufacture in order to allow industrial synergies between the two sites: by-product upcycling, energy and logistical savings. On Monday, May 21, 2019 was laid the foundation stone of the site of Nesle.[11][12]

InnovaFeed announced that by 2022, five new plants will be deployed on the same model as the Nesle site.[13]

Funding

InnovaFeed first funding round in mid-February 2018 enabled it to secure €15 million from a group of investors led by AlterEquity, a fund that invests in companies whose activities address a major social or environmental challenge.[14][15]

In November 2018, InnovaFeed announced that it had completed a second round of funding, securing an additional €40 million.[13] The transaction involved a group of European and Asian investors led by Creadev. This investment will enable to strengthen the team as well as support and accelerate InnovaFeed's industrial development on several new production sites.

Business development

In 2017, InnovaFeed entered in a partnership with the French retailer Auchan to collaborate on the development of new value chains to deliver insect-fed fish.[16]

Auchan first approached the trout industry, an emblematic species of French Aquaculture. In June 2018, the first insect-fed trout were commercialized in Auchan Retail France stores as part of a trial. On July 3, 2018, a tasting of the first trout fed with an insect protein-based feed was organized in partnership with Auchan Retail France . Thetwo Michelin star chef Remy Giraud from the Domaine of Hauts de Loire who prepared the trout said[17] “The insect-fed trout has better conservation, a meat that is more durable. And for the taste, the insect-fed one is much superior and has an excellent texture in the mouth.” Since November 2018, the “insect-fed” trout have been available continuously in 52 Auchan stores in the Ile-de-France and Nord Littoral regions with the plan to expand the scope of the project to the rest of France by the end of 2019.[18]

This approach was the result of the collaboration between InnovaFeed, fish feed manufacturers and fish farmers referenced by Auchan Retail France.

Technology

Black Soldier fly (Hermetia illucens)

The insect used in the InnovaFeed process is the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens).[19]

This insect species has been approved by the European Commission for animal feed breeding because it does not transmit pathogen for humans and is non-aggressive.[20][21][22]

Breeding techniques

The by-products used to feed the insects do not generate the consumption of additional natural resources and do not compete with human food. Insect droppings are used as a natural fertilizer for local organic agriculture.[8]

Industrial processes and quality

InnovaFeed is approved by local authorities for the processing of Category 3 (L) animal by-products in accordance with art. 24.1.a of document CE 1069/2009 (FR 59 269 001).[23][24]

Awards and distinctions
  • Winner 2017 France Experimentation.[25]
  • Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2018 in Northern France, startup category (EY).[26]
  • Start-up of the Year 2018 Nord-de-France (EY).[27]

Notes and references
  1. "FAO: Alimentation naturelle et habitudes alimentaires". www.fao.org (in French). Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  2. "Territoires en action : InnovaFeed, des insectes pour une pisciculture durable". www.cohesion-territoires.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  3. "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  4. Olsen, Ragnar L.; Hasan, Mohammad R. (2012-10-01). "A limited supply of fishmeal: Impact on future increases in global aquaculture production". Trends in Food Science & Technology. 27 (2): 120–128. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2012.06.003. ISSN 0924-2244.
  5. Parra Paz, Angela Sofía; Carrejo, Nancy Soraya; Gómez Rodríguez, Carlos Humberto (2015-12-01). "Effects of Larval Density and Feeding Rates on the Bioconversion of Vegetable Waste Using Black Soldier Fly Larvae Hermetia illucens (L.), (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)". Waste and Biomass Valorization. 6 (6): 1059–1065. doi:10.1007/s12649-015-9418-8. ISSN 1877-265X.
  6. Pastor, B.; Velasquez, Y.; Gobbi, P.; Rojo, S. (2015-07-03). "Conversion of organic wastes into fly larval biomass: bottlenecks and challenges". Journal of Insects as Food and Feed. 1 (3): 179–193. doi:10.3920/JIFF2014.0024.
  7. Huis, Arnold van; Tomberlin, Jeffery K (2017). Insects as food and feed: from production to consumption. ISBN 9789086862962. OCLC 967322486.
  8. "Intrants Ecocert - INNOVAFEED". ap.ecocert.com. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  9. "GéoLink implante InnovaFeed dans le biocluster Genopole". Geolink Expansion (in French). 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  10. "InnovaFeed s'implante à Nesle : 110 emplois devraient être créés". France 3 Hauts-de-France (in French). Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  11. "Nos actualités". Tereos (in French). Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  12. "InnovaFeed à Nesle, une ambition mondiale - Courrier picard - Espace Premium". premium.courrier-picard.fr (in French). Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  13. "InnovaFeed lève 40 millions pour produire ses protéines d'insectes". Les Echos (in French). 2018-11-29. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  14. "Alter Equity — Innovafeed". www.alter-equity.com. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  15. Media, Celine AgromediaJournaliste spécialisée dans l'industrie agroalimentaire chez Agro (2018-02-12). "Aquaculture : Innovafeed lève 15 millions d'euros pour un système d'élevage d'insectes". Agro Media (in French). Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  16. On, Dinhill. "Protéines : Partenariat entre InnovaFeed et Auchan". Formule Verte (in French). Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  17. "Des insectes au menu... de la Truite !". www.eurotoques.fr. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  18. "Auchan lance une filière de truite nourrie à la farine d'insecte". lsa-conso.fr (in French). Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  19. "Update: A-Z of insect protein/oil companies". AllAboutFeed. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  20. "CORDIS | European Commission". cordis.europa.eu. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  21. Martin Hauser. The historical spread of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera, Stratiomyidae, Hermetiinae), and its establishment in Canada.
  22. "Technical hand book of domestication and production of the insect Hermetia illucens flyer / Ouvrages / La documentation / Indonésie / IRD - Sites de représentation / IRD - Indonésie". www.indonesie.ird.fr. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  23. RÈGLEMENT (CE) No 1069/2009 DU PARLEMENT EUROPÉEN ET DU CONSEIL. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:300:0001:0033:FR:PDF.CS1 maint: location (link)
  24. Ministère de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation. Category 3 processing plants (Article 24(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) N°1069/2009. https://fichiers-publics.agriculture.gouv.fr/dgal/ListesOfficielles/SPA6_AGRUSINTRAC3.pdf.CS1 maint: location (link)
  25. "Vous avez un projet innovant mais vous êtes bloqué par un texte réglementaire ? Participez à France Expérimentation | Modernisation". www.modernisation.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  26. "Innovafeed est lauréat régional 2018 du Prix de la start-up de l'année EY". Eurasanté. 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  27. ROUSSANGE, GUILLAUME (2018-10-05). "InnovaFeed, start-up de l'année en Nord de France, nourrit les poissons avec des mouches". Les Echos Executives (in French). Retrieved 2019-06-20.
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