Tebrio Spanish startup anticipates industrial insect breeding :" In 10 years they will cease to be something anecdotal" - The transformation of the agri-food industry will be sustainable, or it will not be. With a world population that will be close to 9,000 million people by 2050 according to the UN forecasts, climate change threatening to cause the sixth mass extinction of species and generate millions of climate refugees and a planet on the verge of collapse whose biodiversity must be protected, its ecosystems protected and its emissions reduced, there is no other choice but to rethink the current food model.

One of the keys is the growing insect industry, in which Spanish startups such as Tebrio occupy a relevant role. Its CEO, Adriana Casillas, unravels the keys to a project that began as a risky bet when in our country nothing similar was done. Today, they produce on a large scale the mealworm with various formats and purposes.

Reports such as that of the FAO have long been putting on the table the advantages of insects as a source of protein more economical, sustainable and respectful with the environment. Bugs such as grasshoppers, worms, ants, crickets or beetles can be part of the cocktail of solutions to address global food shortages, reduce water and carbon footprints or alleviate hunger.

Studies like this, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, highlight the potential of insects to replace meat and nutritionists emphasize their nutritional benefits, such as their protein of high biological value, vitamins such as B1, B2 and B3, omega 3 and 6, amino acids and minerals such as iron.

Tebrio Spanish startup anticipates industrial insect breeding

Although around the world about 2,000 types of these animals are eaten, it was not until February 2021 that the European Union first authorized the mealworm as the first edible insect.

Tebrio is a startup dedicated to the industrial breeding of the Tenebrio molitor or mealworm. Its journey began in 2014, according to its CEO Adriana Casillas. At that time he was dedicated to music, but he already treasured training in business management and never better said, he bit the bug of undertaking with an eye on the future.

Together with the other founding partner, Sabas de Diego, they detected a need around the future lack of proteins. "Insects were not contemplated but they are a super-viable and tremendously sustainable source," he says.

One of the keys to their vision is that they always had a large-scale perspective, so they never thought about starting with microgrands and growing organically, but a highly scalable industrial insect breeding project. Why the mealworm? "On an industrial scale it is more manageable and also because of the type of final product that we can bring to market thanks to it," says Casillas.

Tebrio Spanish startup anticipates industrial insect breeding

Not everything was a path of roses, since 7 years ago no one had a similar project in Spain. "We were born betting mainly on insects as a source of animal food, but at that time there was nothing legislated".

Both partners got to work working with the International Insect Platform for Food and Animal Feed and the European Commission. "They were complicated years, but here we are," he celebrates. They initially emphasized animal feed, but they began to see how their auxiliary products could have a great impact on the market.

Tebrio transforms the breeding of the mealworm into 4 main products: organic fertilizer for plants, feed with sustainable protein for pets, articles for use in aquaculture and products for technical uses, such as chitin, obtained from the beetle hut.

"At present it is fertilized and protein that have the greatest weight and demand."

This year the European Union laid the first legal foundations for insects to end up on your plate, approving in May a favourable opinion on the bill authorizing the marketing of dried yellow worm as food, either as an appetizer or as an ingredient in food products.

Tebrio Spanish startup anticipates industrial insect breeding

"For the moment they have approved it for just one company, which is the one that can market the insect for the moment in Europe," says Adriana Casillas, celebrating the precedent set by the regulations for the rest. The company is called EAP Group and is French. "Obviously every company has to pass some sanitary requirements, just as not everyone can sell their pork on the market without further ado."

"We are working on it and we hope that in a short period of time we can put the products on the human food market," he says. "At the legislative level, the very strict health regulations in Europe make you absolutely sure that it is a safe and healthy food."

Tebrio Spanish startup anticipates industrial insect breeding: One of the main challenges is the cultural component when it comes to tasting an entire insect. "The problem is not the taste, pleasant and similar to a hazelnut or other nut. It is one thing to eat a hamburger from crushed insects and another, eat them whole", apostille. "In Europe it will be difficult to change the mentality," he warns.

"As a society we have to move towards a much more sustainable food industry and the main challenge is to improve costs, because you can not try to feed the population with very expensive prices". The co-founder of Tebrio points out that for both in vitro meat and insect production and other projects scalability is the big challenge.

"The whole industry has to be much more sustainable because otherwise, the planet is not going to hold up to the pace we are taking. On the one hand we need more institutional support, money and investment in these projects, but also time for these processes."

Looking at its mealworm, this insect bred by biotech emits neither methane nor ammonia. In addition, the carbon footprint is negative. In other words, their existence is good for the environment. In addition, they are zero waste, contributing to the circular economy. "All products are sold and there is no residue left."

Looking to the future, Tebrio sees the next decade as a key moment. "In 10 years, insects will no longer be something anecdotal or interesting to become a fully consolidated industry," says Adriana Casillas.

Although they still represent a very small niche today, the edible insect market is projected to exceed $ 4.6 billion by 2027, according to a report published by Meticulous Research.

Right now the startup is starting to build one of the largest insect factories in the world, with 60,000 square meters of facilities, thanks to which they will produce 100,000 tons of insect products annually.

# Tebrio Spanish startup anticipates industrial insect breeding #