Tecmafoods produces insect-based ingredients, specifically mealworm, through a vertically integrated process from breeding to processing. Their decentralized production model aims to reduce environmental impact and promote a circular economy by returning nutrients to the soil.
Funding
$383K raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
The current food system faces challenges related to food security, climate change, food waste, and rising CO2 levels. Traditional agriculture can be resource-intensive and contribute to environmental degradation. There is a need for alternative, sustainable food sources that can address these issues.
Solution
Tecmafoods offers a sustainable solution by producing insect-based ingredients, specifically mealworm, through a vertically integrated process. Their approach reduces environmental impact by utilizing food waste as feed for the mealworms, promoting a circular economy. The company extracts powder, protein, and oils from mealworms to enhance various foods with nutrition, while also producing frass, which enriches soils. Tecmafoods collaborates with food companies to repurpose co-products, enhancing quality while minimizing waste, and offers technology to transform spaces into efficient mealworm farms through modular units and converted structures.
Target Audience
Tecmafoods targets food companies seeking sustainable and nutritious ingredients, feed and pet food manufacturers looking to enhance their products, and farmers interested in soil regeneration through frass application.
Features
- Production of mealworm-based ingredients in whole, powder, protein, and oil forms.
- Frass production for soil enrichment, containing nitrogen and chitin.
- Vertically integrated process from breeding to processing, ensuring quality control.
- Decentralized iRanches powered by TecmaBox for localized insect farming.
- Technology for converting existing structures into efficient mealworm farms.
- Focus on utilizing food waste as feed, reducing environmental impact.
- Development of feed and pet food products using mealworm ingredients.