You are what you eat eats, is the famous quote by Michael Pollan, food author and activist. While many of us are probably put off by the idea of eating insect meal as protein, a new startup has gone down the food-chain to make a sustainable source of protein feed for the creatures we still do like to eat, namely fish and birds such as chicken. These omnivores do require a high-protein feed, and the end-quality of what you eat will only be as good as what the animal you eat, eats.
A new startup has developed a process to cultivate and ship black soldier flies so they can shipped and activated for growth to where they are needed.
To reiterate, FreezeM is not producing insects for people to eat directly (like crunchy cricket snacks) you might see at alt.protein events, but their focus is on using insects as a protein source for animal feed (and indirectly, food security).
They developed a technology to “pause” the life cycle of black soldier fly (BSF) larvae which ensures that costly grow labs aren’t needed where the feed is needed, but instead allows them to ship dormant larvae worldwide, which can then be “woken up” on-site and fed with local organic waste. Let’s hope the focus stays on organic.
The larvae, onnce unpacked, quickly grow and can be processed into high-protein feed for fish (aquaculture), poultry, and livestock, as well as insect oil and fertilizer byproducts. The byproducts part sounds not clear, but according to the company they address problems at once: A, an organic waste management – converting food waste and agricultural byproducts into something useful. We can get behind this. And, B, a stainable protein supply – reducing reliance on soy imports or overfished ocean resources for feed.
So FreezeM’s insects are the intermediate step: turning waste into animal feed (and eventually into meat, fish, or eggs for people). When I had my startup in agriculture, developing brains and controllers for greenhouses, this was a common need expressed by farmers: systems not only to feed people fresh food, but hydroponic systems that can create fresh feed for animals. Soy and corn products can play a role, but not be the only diet livestock should be eating.
According to Family Friendly Farms, it is not healthy for livestock to eat only corn and soy, and “meat from animals fed predominantly on corn and soy may lack essential nutrients, leading to potential nutrient deficiencies in humans who consume such meat.
FreezeM was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel by three researchers: Yuval Gilad (CEO), Idan Alyagor (CTO), and Yoav Politi (VP R&D). The founders were graduates of Weizmann and had expertise in molecular genetics / developmental biology (especially using fly embryos) and entomology.
The core technology (PauseM®) is based on inducing a “paused” or “suspended animation” state in Black Soldier Fly (BSF) neonates so that they can survive transportation with extended shelf life before being revived, fed and grown for animal feed. They also have a partnership with Hermetia Baruth GmbH (Germany) for joint production / distribution of PauseM in Europe.
In February 2024, FreezeM closed a Series A round of USD 14.2 million with that round was led by industrial investors and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund (along with existing investors / partners) to expand breeding hubs and commercialize PauseM. Prior to that FreezeM had raised €6.3 million in EIC funding. Their flagship product is PauseM®: essentially “paused” BSF neonates with a ~14-day guaranteed shelf life and survival of greater than 90%, with the economical idea of decoupling the breeding part of insect protein production from the rearing / growing part.
Farms that just want to feed larvae / grow / process don’t need to maintain their own breeding colony; they can order PauseM from FreezeM, feed the colony and feed it straight to the livestock.
This is a more palatable solution that other alt protein companies we’ve written about.
Curious to sink your teeth into alt. protein made from bugs? Jump in below.
- Flying Spark (Israel) – fruit fly larvae protein
- Hargol FoodTech (Israel) – locust protein
- Aspire Food Group (Canada/US) – cricket farming & ingredients
- Ÿnsect (France) – mealworm protein & fertilizer co-products
- Innovafeed (France/US) – black soldier fly (BSF) for feed
- Protix (Netherlands) – BSF ingredients for pet, aqua & livestock
- Entocycle (UK) – BSF tech & breeding systems
- Beta Hatch (USA) – mealworm farming at scale
- Hexafly (Ireland) – BSF oils, proteins & chitin
- Entobel (Vietnam) – BSF feed ingredients in Southeast Asia
- Insectta (Singapore) – BSF with biotech co-products
- AgriProtein (South Africa) – early BSF pioneer
- MealFood Europe (Spain) – mealworm ingredients
- Packaged Feeds (UK/EU) – integrating BSF breeding inputs
- IKEA x Space10 (global) – concept foods featuring insect protein
