Aspire Food Group

What Aspire Food Group does

Aspire Food Group is an insect agriculture company founded in 2013 in Austin, Texas, after winning the Hult Prize, that produces cricket protein ingredients and cricket frass (excrement/exoskeleton byproduct) for sale to industrial B2B customers. The company operates a fully automated vertical farming platform that integrates robotics, Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), machine learning, IoT sensor networks, and computer vision (via a partnership with DarwinAI) to produce what was promoted as the world's largest fully automated cricket production facility at 150,000 square feet in London, Ontario, completed in 2022. The technology stack is designed to function as a self-optimizing system, with daily data collection from millions of sensor points feeding ML models that continuously refine cricket growth, harvesting, and processing conditions.

Aspire sells three product families under a B2B ingredient-supplier model: whole crickets and cricket protein powder for human food applications, cricket protein for hypoallergenic pet food formulations, and frass for organic plant supplements, aquaculture feed, and livestock feed. The company positions itself as the exclusive cricket protein supplier to Hoppy Planet Foods (which acquired the EXO consumer brand from Aspire in 2021) and signed an MOU with Lotte Confectionary in 2022 to enter the Asian confectionery market. Pricing is quote-based for bulk industrial volumes; no published pricing or revenue figures exist in the public record.

The company is venture-backed, having raised approximately $53M+ across seed (2015), Series A (2017), and Series B (2019) rounds, supplemented by ~$20.6M CAD in Canadian non-dilutive funding (NGen, SDTC) and an $8.5M federal commitment. In 2025 the Canadian operating entity entered receivership with approximately $29.8M (41.5M CAD) of debt; new ownership subsequently acquired the company out of receivership with stated plans to restart cricket production at the London facility. Post-receivership operating status is active but ownership identity is undisclosed.

Name

Aspire Food Group

Legal name

Aspire Food Group

Website

https://aspirefg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insect Protein Ingredients

NAICS

Animal Slaughtering and Processing (3116), Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing (311111), Other Animal Food Manufacturing (311119)

SIC

Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Insect-Based Protein Foods Manufacturing (AFAKAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Plant-Based Meat & Seafood Analogues Manufacturing (AFAKAGAA)

Keywords

• Edible insect protein
• Cricket protein ingredients
• Insect agriculture technology
• Alternative protein manufacturing
• Organic frass fertilizer

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Cricket Protein Ingredients B2B Sales: Aspire operates as a B2B ingredient supplier, selling cricket protein to food manufacturers, pet food companies, and product developers. The company positions itself as the exclusive ingredient supplier to Hoppy Planet Foods for their EXO and Acheta Protein product lines.
2. Frass Agricultural Products: Sale of cricket frass (excrement, exoskeletons, residual plant-based feed) as organic agricultural supplement for plants, aquaculture feed supplement, and livestock feed ingredient.
3. Pet Food Ingredients: Crickets sold as a superfood ingredient for pet food, marketed as a healthy protein source that avoids allergies, irritation, and inflammation common with conventional proteins.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Aspire Food Group operates AI-enabled, fully automated indoor cricket farming facilities to manufacture cricket protein ingredients (whole crickets and cricket powder) for human food and pet food applications, along with frass (cricket excrement, exoskeletons, and residual feed) sold as an organic agricultural supplement for plants, aquaculture feed, and livestock feed. The company sells these as bulk industrial ingredients to food manufacturers, pet food companies, and agricultural buyers rather than consumer packaged goods.

Product overview

Aspire Food Group operates as an insect agriculture company producing cricket-based protein ingredients through fully automated, AI-enabled indoor farming facilities. The product portfolio centers on two core offerings: Cricket Protein (whole crickets and cricket powder) for human food, supplements, and pet food applications, and Frass (cricket frass) as an organic agricultural supplement for plants, aquaculture, and livestock feed. The company sells cricket protein as ingredients to food manufacturers and product developers, rather than consumer packaged goods. The modular vertical farming technology enables scalable production across different markets (people, pets, and plants) from the same underlying production system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EXO Protein: Cricket protein bars and performance-focused foods. Acquired by Aspire in 2018 and sold to Hoppy Planet Foods in 2021.

Products and services

• Cricket Protein (Whole Crickets and Cricket Powder) Whole crickets and cricket protein powder produced through AI-supported, fully automated indoor farming. Crickets serve as a complete protein with all essential amino acids for human consumption, marketed as a sustainable superfood ingredient for food manufacturers.
• Frass (Cricket Frass) All-natural agricultural product composed of cricket excrements, exoskeletons, and residual plant-based cricket feed. Frass is rich in chitin with bioactivating properties for plants, beneficial as an aquaculture feed supplement, and provides nutritional value for livestock.
• Cricket Protein for Pet Food Cricket protein ingredient formulated for pet food, providing a healthy balance of protein, fiber, and nutrients without causing irritation, inflammation, or allergies in animals. Positioned as a hypoallergenic, sustainable novel protein for pet food manufacturers.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major, supporting, core and former.

• Lotte Confectionary Co. LtdmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 September 2022Memorandum of Understanding signed for product sales, distribution, R&D collaboration, and expansion opportunities in the confectionery sector. This partnership represents Aspire's entry into the Asian market with a major confectionery company.
• Université LavalsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2022Aspire sponsors the Educational Leadership Chair in Production and Primary Processing of Edible Insects at Université Laval, held by Professor Marie-Hélène Deschamps. Partnership supports education, training of agricultural specialists, and research to optimize insect farming techniques.
• DarwinAIcoreTechnology or Integration · 18 January 2022Strategic partnership to develop AI-enabled quality inspection and production optimization. DarwinAI provides Explainable AI (XAI) combining automated visual inspection with IoT sensor data to optimize yield and provide real-time operational insights. Supported by Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) and Sustainable Development Technology Canada.
• Hoppy Planet FoodscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 16 September 2021Hoppy Planet Foods acquired the EXO brand from Aspire Food Group in September 2021. Aspire continues as the exclusive ingredient supplier of cricket protein for Hoppy Planet Foods' Acheta Protein product line, including protein bars, cookies, mini muffins, and brownies distributed through retail stores like Hy-Vee supermarkets and online.
• Exo (Acquisition)formerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 March 2018Aspire acquired cricket protein bar maker Exo in 2018, then sold the brand back to Hoppy Planet Foods in 2021 while retaining exclusive ingredient supply rights. This represented vertical integration into consumer products before strategic refocus on B2B ingredients.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aspire-food-group
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• Facebookfacebook.com/aspirefg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aspire Food Group