We know that, just like us, there are hundreds of other projects wanting to do more for the planet. We went to them to find out more about what drives them and what we can expect from them. Once a week, one startup, one interview, five questions.
We talked to Gonçalo Costa,founder of The Cricket Farming CO, a startup dedicated to the production of crickets for human and animal food.
Crickets feed on vegetable scraps from agro-industries, reducing food waste along the value chain and reintroducing value to this chain in the form of a healthy and nutritionally rich option.
What problem is your startup solving?
The Cricket Farming CO. is a company that operates in the emerging market of edible insects for human consumption, producing 100% Portuguese crickets. There is an increasingly evident demand for protein alternatives that are more sustainable than the current choices on the market, such as pork or beef. Our crickets happily and efficiently feed on vegetable scraps from agro-industries, reducing food waste along the value chain and reintroducing value to this chain in the form of a healthy option, with a very rich nutritional profile, and consuming very few resources such as water, agricultural land, and food.
In which countries are you present?
At the moment we are present in Portugal, however we have a line of products destined for Japan, still in preparation.
Why the sustainability area to start a business?
For me it is the logical step, since my background is in Biology and I have always been surrounded by insects and plants. At the moment I am in the Lidera Community, in which I can share and discuss ideas about sustainability applied to business. I also have to mention my partners who believed and raised the idea to reality, a thank you to José Gonçalves and Sandra Sousa.
What are the biggest obstacles of working in this area?
It is almost like rowing against the tide and demystifying everything we have been exposed to over the years. I know it’s a pioneering idea, and it’s necessary to think of strategies to combat the repulsion of eating insects – because if you look at prawns, they are glorified, swimming grasshoppers that we’re even willing to pay a black mark for. Another obstacle would be the legislation, still embryonic when it comes to the production, processing and commercialization of edible insects, accompanied by general ignorance of the competent authorities and technicians on this extremely recent topic. I could also not fail to mention the relative fear of funding entities and startup programs to invest in solutions in the primary sector.
What achievement are you most proud of as the leader of this startup?
Definitely attracting people to the project who believe as much as I do in the idea and who are leaders with me in this project. I must also mention our collaboration with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which we will be hearing about in the near future.
What is the next step?
The next step – and also a gargantuan challenge – will be to build an industrial unit for cricket production, in Leiria region.
Esta publicação também está disponível em:
Português (Portuguese (Portugal))
