Protix | The Netherlands

Numerous launches

The pet food industry has seen several product launches in recent years containing insect proteins. It started with Jonker Petfood presenting its first product containing insect proteins at Interzoo in 2014. Trovet came next, launching its first commercial hypoallergenic dry dog food, later followed by a canned (wet) and cat food version. 

Since then there have been numerous new brands launching diets containing insect proteins, amongst others in Germany, Italy, France, Poland and the United Kingdom. In addition, insect protein is used in food for several other pet species, including birds, tropical fish and hedgehogs.

The company behind most of these launches was Protix, the Dutch origin insect producer, which supplied its ProteinX, LipidX and PureeX as key ingredients.

Sustainable and palatable 

It is known that novel proteins can relieve allergic issues caused by conventional proteins like chicken, beef or fish. However, the use of insect proteins in pet food is not restricted to use in sensitive or hypoallergenic diets only. 

“We see a strong increase in demand for our ingredients because of their sustainable nature; consumers seem more concerned about the environment than a couple of years ago,” says Tarique Arsiwalla, founder and chief commercial officer at Protix. “Our ProteinX, produced from the Hermetia Illucens (black soldier fly larvae), is a novel animal protein with valuable characteristics: a low footprint, highly digestible, palatable and fresh.”

Human interest growing

The growing interest in using insects in animal feed does not stop with pet food. “Consumers are more and more intent on buying good products, also for their own consumption,” says Arsiwalla. Protix has already launched an egg brand, Friendly Egg, in the Netherlands. The eggs are from chickens that have had all soy eliminated from their diets and instead feed on insects, which they are eager to chase. In this way, footprint and animal welfare are taken seriously both at the same time. The company recently launched a similar concept in aquaculture: the Friendly Salmon, which is full grown salmon fed without the use of controversial fish meal.

Joint venture with Buhler

Expanding the market potential further, in January 2017, Protix entered into a joint venture with Buhler, the Swiss origin equipment manufacturer, with the aim of working together to accelerate the availability of insect proteins globally. 

Buhler had been studying the world of insects for several years and concluded that the insect industry would have a big future and approached Protix because of its strong track record since 2009 in both technology and market applications. The Swiss company expects that, by 2050, insect proteins will make up 15% of all global protein production. 

Buhler Insect Technology Solutions, or BITS as the joint venture is known, has developed a blue print for large, industrial scale insect production facilities that can be built for third parties all over the world.

Scaling up insect production

At the same time, Protix is also pursuing its own autonomous growth. “We are building our second production facility in the Netherlands this year,” says Arsiwalla. “The global opportunity for insect protein is so large, however, that we believe it is of benefit to everyone, including ourselves, also to accelerate the whole insect industry through this joint venture.” By adding more production capacity around the globe, the company expects to open up more markets and see larger global players within those markets step in and start using insect proteins and lipids as preferred ingredients. 

“To create impact on a global scale fast, we simply can’t do it all by ourselves,” says Arsiwalla, adding that he expects there will be more such partnerships to come. “The pet food industry can be confident that our insect derived ingredients like ProteinX, LipidX and PureeX are there not only to stay but to grow.” 

INTERZOO 2018 – Hall 2, booth 611