edibl® - The UK Insect Company

What edibl® - The UK Insect Company does

edibl® is a UK-based, vertically integrated cricket protein producer operating a farm-to-finished-product supply chain. Founded in 2019/2020, the company farms crickets in a purpose-built, North Norfolk facility inspected and approved by North Norfolk District Council under human food-grade conditions, and is registered as a UK Novel Foods compliant operator. Its core technology is a circular production system in which each farming cycle yields multiple output streams: cricket protein powder and whole cricket for food applications, frass (a nutrient-rich by-product containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and chitin) sold as an organic soil improver, and co-products. Reported nutritional attributes include approximately 70% dried protein content, all nine essential amino acids, Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, and minerals including B12, iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium.

The company sells primarily to B2B customers across six verticals: bakeries and artisan producers, restaurants and food service (including diaspora cuisines with established entomophagy traditions), food brands and retailers, pet food manufacturers, UK university R&D partners, and horticulture/agriculture buyers of frass. Commercial mechanics are sales-led and direct: customers engage via a single email channel ([email protected]) with trials starting at 40kg MOQs scaling to 5+ tonnes and 3-4 week lead times. Revenue streams comprise ingredient supply, white-label new product development (covering protein shakes, bakery blends, mince/burger concepts, and custom formats), frass sales, and grant-backed R&D collaborations with universities including Cranfield, UEA, Surrey, Reading, Aberystwyth, and Fera Science. The company is founder-controlled (Co-CEOs Dr Geoffrey Knott FRES and Daniel Levan-Harris, with Matthew Bouloux as CGO and Paul Stennett MBE as advisor), and in 2023 was designated a Tier 1 innovation by the UK Food Standards Agency. No external institutional investors, parent companies, or funding round sizes are publicly disclosed.

Name

edibl® - The UK Insect Company

Legal name

The UK Insect Company Ltd

Website

https://edibluk.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

edibl® is a UK-based, vertically integrated cricket protein company that farms crickets in a human food-grade-approved facility and supplies protein powder, whole crickets, white-label NPD, and frass by-product to food brands, bakeries, restaurants, pet food makers, and research partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Protein Ingredients

NAICS

Animal Production and Aquaculture (112)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFADADAM

Sustainable & Alternative-Protein Aquafeed (Insect, Algae, Single-Cell, Byproduct-Based)

Agriculture & Food Production/Animal Feed Manufacturing/Aquaculture Feed

Keywords

• Edible insect protein
• Cricket protein powder
• Alternative protein ingredients
• White-label food NPD
• Sustainable protein production

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cricket Protein Ingredients: Sale of UK-grown cricket protein powder and whole cricket to food brands, bakeries, restaurants, and pet food manufacturers. Food-grade, traceable ingredient supply with MOQs from 40kg trials to 5+ tonnes commercial volumes.
2. White-Label NPD Services: New product development support including formulation, product architecture, and routes to market. Ranges from ingredient-only to near turn-key white-label depending on partner stage and goals.
3. Frass (By-product Sales): Sale of cricket frass — nutrient-rich by-product containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and chitin. Sold as organic soil improver and plant health booster to horticulture and agriculture sectors.
4. R&D Collaboration: Joint innovation, PhD collaborations, and grant-backed projects with universities and research groups covering human health, performance, and sustainability.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

edibl® operates a vertically integrated UK cricket farm and processing facility that produces food-grade cricket protein powder and whole crickets for human consumption. The company supplies these ingredients to food brands, bakeries, restaurants, and pet food manufacturers, and provides white-label new product development (NPD) services spanning formulation, product architecture, and routes to market. A secondary circular-economy output is frass (insect by-product) sold as an organic soil improver.

Product overview

edibl® is a vertically integrated UK cricket protein company offering a portfolio of core ingredient products (cricket protein powder, whole cricket), white-label product formats (protein shakes, bakery blends, custom formats), and supporting services (ingredient supply, NPD/white-label development, R&D co-development). The company also produces frass as a circular by-product for agriculture. Products range from small trial quantities (40kg MOQ) to commercial volumes (5+ tonnes), serving food brands, bakeries, restaurants, pet food manufacturers, and research partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cricket Protein Powder UK-grown cricket protein powder at approximately 70% protein content with all nine essential amino acids, designed for integration into food products by brands, bakeries, and food manufacturers. Food-grade, traceable, and supplied in volumes from 40kg trials to 5+ tonnes.
• Whole Cricket Whole dried crickets suitable for human food applications, supplied to food brands, restaurants, and food service operators with full traceability and compliance documentation.
• White-Label Protein Shakes Cricket protein-based shake formulations co-developed with brands for active nutrition and functional product ranges, available as white-label products for retailers and food brands.
• White-Label Bakery Blends High-protein cricket formulations for breads, biscuits, pancakes, and other specialty bakery formats developed via white-label NPD service for bakeries, artisan producers, and food brands.
• Custom White-Label Formats Co-developed differentiated cricket-based product concepts including mince, burgers, and other custom formats developed for brands via white-label routes to market.
• Cricket-Based Pet Food Ingredients Premium cricket protein supplied to pet food manufacturers for wet, fresh-frozen, and treat formats, produced under human food-grade conditions to support 'made with human food grade ingredients' claims.
• Frass (Organic Soil Improver) Nutrient-rich by-product of cricket production containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and chitin, sold to horticulture and agriculture sectors as an organic soil improver and plant health booster.
• White-Label NPD Service End-to-end new product development service covering formulation, product architecture, and routes to market for brands seeking to launch cricket-based food and beverage products, ranging from ingredient supply to near turn-key white-label.
• R&D and Co-Development Service Joint innovation, PhD collaborations, and grant-backed research projects with UK universities and research groups covering human health, performance, and sustainability.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15x less land, 2000x less water, 12x less feed used per kg of protein compared to beef
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Cranfield UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWithin Cranfield University investment portfolio for R&D collaboration on farm-to-ingredient innovation and circular agriculture research.
• UK Edible Insect Association (UKEIA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partneredibl's founder Dr Geoffrey Knott serves as Chair of UKEIA, at the forefront of policy, standards, and market development for the UK edible insect sector.
• University of East Anglia (UEA)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive PhD collaborations at UEA covering human health, performance, and sustainability research.
• Fera SciencesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership for innovation activity across sustainable food systems and agricultural applications.
• University of SurreysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive PhD collaborations at University of Surrey covering nutrition and sustainability research.
• University of ReadingsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration on research initiatives related to sustainable protein and circular food systems.
• Aberystwyth UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnerships covering circular agriculture and sustainable food production research.
• North Norfolk District CouncilcoreOthersRegulatory body that inspects and approves edibl's cricket farming and processing operations under human food-grade conditions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ediblUK
• Facebookfacebook.com/edibl-The-UK-Insect-Company-101874852101350
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/edibl
• Instagraminstagram.com/edibl.uk/?hl=en-gb

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about edibl® - The UK Insect Company