An energy expert to lead the future of insect farming

The French insect farming firm appointed Shankar Krishnamoorthy as its new CEO, replacing founder Antoine Hubert, who will remain with the company as VP while focusing on innovation, science and impact.

Krishnamoorthy explains that his new role will involve “transitioning from a scale-up to a fully operational industrial company.”

“By the end of the year, our production site in Amiens (Northern France) will start producing ingredients to meet the growing demand of our customers, and I will continue to support the company in its next stage of growth: that of development and profitability,” he says. 

Ÿnsect has added some new members to its committee, including Eugenio Minvielle, founder of food intelligence platform Innit; automotive industry expert Jean-Christophe Quémard; and Peugeot Invest UK’s CEO Jean-Paul Lemonnier.

The company announced a rebranding last May and moved its ingredient product portfolio to be part of Sprÿng.

Why did they choose Krishnamoorthy?

Before his CEO posting, Krishnamoorthy had worked within the company for 2 years constructing the company’s plant in Amiens, which claims to be the largest insect farm in the world.

In a conversation with GlobalPETS, Antoine Hubert says that over the past two years, Krishnamoorthy has “brought to the teams his know-how and expertise to successfully build a sustainable model.”

“Thanks to his support, we’ll be able to start up Amiens and move forward with the construction of our next sites while optimizing our model and thus gaining in efficiency and productivity to address the great challenges of our time: feeding the world while preserving our ecosystems,” he adds.

Before his time at Ÿnsect, Krishnamoorthy worked at energy multinational ENGIE for over 20 years, where he oversaw business development and, most recently, became a member of the firm’s executive committee. 

Expertise in energy is another major advantage for Ÿnsect, as the company prides itself in operating its vertical farms with negative carbon and water footprints.

Goals 

Since the company was established in 2011, its primary goal has remained “to reinvent the food chain by putting the insect back where it belongs: at its base.” 

However, Ÿnsect has recently chosen to “recommit” to the pet food market. According to Hubert, the insect farming firm has taken the decision to strengthen its knowledge of insects to better adapt its ingredients. 

The company wants to grow first within the EU, America and Asia and plans to expand to more regions across the world. Ÿnsect plans to become a leading player in Mexico and the US, where it expects to build farms under licenses or joint ventures in the near future.