Are insect protein players about to swarm Singapore?

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Hello reader,

Creepy crawlies … yum?

I’ve never really had much opportunity to eat insect-based food or deep-fried insects. The most I’ve done so far is eat some fried mealworms that my dad brought back after an overseas trip. To be honest, they weren’t bad – with all the seasoning, it felt like I was just eating a regular bag of chips.

Now that Singapore has approved the sale of insect-based food in the country, I’m sure I’ll get many opportunities to get my fill of multi-legged creatures.

Doesn’t mean I’m going to, though.

Today we look at:

• The effect of Singapore’s green light for insect-based food
• Oyo’s US$50 million fundraise
• Other newsy highlights such as Byju’s bankruptcy proceedings and Sequoia’s potential deal with Stripe

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Mmm… crunchy…

Image credit: Timmy Loen

At this point, I’m already making a mental list of what insects I would consider eating at all. Bees? Potentially interesting. Locusts and crickets? I’ll probably pass.

I’m sure that once all the companies start jumping in, we’ll start to see some interesting new products. Today’s story has all the dirty deets.

• Variety is the spice of life: Earlier this month, the Singapore Food Agency approved 16 species of insects for human consumption. These include crickets, silkworms, and grasshoppers.
• Digging in: Overseas insect protein companies are now looking to hop in. For example, Japanese startup Morus intends to introduce three silkworm-based products to the Singaporean market, while Vietnamese cricket protein company Cricket One has garnered interest from more than 30 Singapore-based firms.
• Spreading the love: Local insect protein firm Altimate Nutrition has conducted more than 20 workshops to educate the public about alternative proteins. Other players have found that consumers may be more open to non-insect-looking food made from insect powder rather than whole insects.

Read more: Insect protein players abuzz with excitement over Singapore regulatory nod

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