Thunder Foods

What Thunder Foods does

Thunder Foods S.A. is a Portuguese biotechnology company founded in April 2021 as a spin-off from Ingredient Odyssey SA, focused exclusively on industrializing the production of protein from Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm) for human food applications. The company operates a proprietary biotechnological process developed specifically for this insect species, producing two core outputs: protein flour and supplements for incorporation into human food products, and organic insect fertilizer (frass) generated as a circular-economy co-product. The technology platform is grounded in over a decade of founder-led research originating in 2011, and the company is currently operating a Pilot Industrial Unit at relevant scale while constructing its first large-scale industrial unit in Santarém, Portugal, scheduled to open at the end of 2025 with planned capacity of dozens of tons of insect-derived products per month.

The company's business model is B2B, targeting food industry players (manufacturers, brands, retailers) seeking to incorporate insect protein into their product portfolios as a sustainable alternative to conventional protein sources. Revenue streams consist of sales of protein flour to food sector customers and sales of organic frass fertilizer, though no commercial contracts, pricing, or named customers have been disclosed. Thunder Foods has secured a €7.5 million equity investment from BlueCrow Capital (closed end of 2023) to fund an R&D unit (opening 2024) and the industrial unit (end of 2025), and participates as a core or lead partner in three EU-funded consortia (CHEERS with Mahou San Miguel, InFishMix, and InsectERA under Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan) that provide research validation, feedstock supply pathways (e.g., beer pomace), and entry into adjacent verticals such as aquafeed and functional beverages.

Geographically, Thunder Foods is headquartered in Santarém, Portugal, and has built its network across Portugal, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, and the UK through research partnerships. The team is small (1-10 employees) and includes specialized roles spanning R&D, production, quality, engineering, and finance. Key personnel include founder and Senior R&D Advisor Daniel Murta (PhD in Veterinary Sciences), R&D Director Marisa Santos (PhD in Bioengineering from IST-MIT Portugal), CEO Diogo Palha, and Production and Innovation Manager Inês Vieira. While the company does not rule out B2C or finished-product development in the future, its near-term strategy remains that of a B2B ingredient supplier.

Name

Thunder Foods

Legal name

Thunder Foods S.A.

Website

https://thunderfoods.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Thunder Foods is a Portuguese biotechnology company that industrializes Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm) protein production for human food applications, supplying protein flour and organic frass fertilizer on a B2B basis to food industry players across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insect Protein Ingredients

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Insect-Based Protein Foods Manufacturing (AFAKAGAJ)

Keywords

• Insect protein production
• Tenebrio molitor farming
• Alternative protein ingredients
• Organic insect fertilizer
• Biotechnology food ingredients

Headquarters

HQ city

Santarém

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tenebrio molitor protein flour: Sale of insect protein flour derived from Tenebrio molitor for incorporation into human food products, targeting food industry players (B2B). The company aims to supply industrial quantities to food sector companies looking to introduce insect-enriched products.
2. Organic insect fertilizer (frass): Production and sale of organic fertilizer (insect frass) derived from Tenebrio molitor farming, generated as a byproduct of the protein production process with circular economy approach.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Thunder Foods S.A. produces industrial-scale Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm) protein flour for incorporation into human food products, alongside organic insect fertilizer (frass) generated as a circular-economy byproduct. The company runs a Pilot Industrial Unit and is building a large-scale industrial facility scheduled to open at the end of 2025, designed to supply food manufacturers, brands, and retailers with sustainable, alternative protein ingredients.

Product overview

Thunder Foods is a biotechnology company producing two core product lines from Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm): insect protein (flour/supplements for human food applications) and organic fertilizer/frass. The company operates an Industrial Pilot Unit testing production at relevant scale and is building its first R&D unit (opening 2024) and first large-scale industrial unit (opening end of 2025) capable of producing dozens of tons of insect-derived products per month. Thunder Foods positions itself as a B2B supplier targeting food industry players seeking to incorporate insect protein into their product portfolios.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Insect Protein (Tenebrio molitor) Protein flour and supplements derived from Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm) insects for incorporation into human food products, produced using a proprietary biotechnological process developed specifically for Tenebrio molitor and supplied to food industry players at industrial scale.
• Organic Insect Fertilizer / Frass (Tenebrio molitor) Organic fertilizer (insect frass) produced as a byproduct of Tenebrio molitor cultivation, valued for agricultural applications and circular-economy benefits. Generated from feeding Tenebrio molitor with agri-food by-products such as beer pomace.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pilot Industrial Unit operating at relevant scale for human food protein production
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Agenda Mobilizadora InsectERAflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023InsectERA is a Mobilising Agenda funded under Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), created to establish a new bioindustrial sector in Portugal focused on insect-based products and solutions. Thunder Foods leads the inFOOD work package within InsectERA. The agenda covers the full innovation cycle from R&D to market, developing multiple projects and initiatives to promote circular economy and new high-value products, processes, and services. Thunder Foods' investment within InsectERA includes its industrial protein and fertilizer production facility.
• Mahou San MiguelflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Mahou San Miguel, Spain's largest brewing company and project coordinator of the CHEERS EU project. Thunder Foods participates in CHEERS contributing to the transformation of Tenebrio molitor for protein incorporation into an energy drink. Mahou San Miguel's brewery is the largest in Spain and second largest in Europe. Beer pomace from the brewery is being evaluated as the main raw material for Thunder Foods' production process, creating a circular economy link.
• InFishMix ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021InFishMix project (PT-INNOVATION-0094) funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through EEA and Norway Grants. Led by Thunder Foods, the consortium includes insect producer EntoGreen, research centers ICBAS-UPORTO, CiiEM (Egas Moniz School of Health & Science), and NORCE Norwegian Research Centre. The project developed insect protein mixes from Tenebrio molitor and Black Soldier Fly for aquafeeds targeting Atlantic salmon and European seabass, using agro-industry by-products as substrates.
• CHEERS Consortium (11 partners across 5 EU countries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CHEERS project (HORIZON2020-funded) involves 11 partners from 5 European countries: Mahou San Miguel (Spain, coordinator), AQUALIA (Spain), HIDROTEC (Spain), AINIA (Spain), Universidad de Valladolid (Spain), PROTEINSECTA (Spain), Innovarum (Spain), Symrise AG (Germany), Genia Bioenergy (Spain), Syspro Automation (Spain), ThunderFoods (Portugal), ZHAW (Switzerland), Earthwatch (United Kingdom). The project aims to revalorize brewing by-streams into five high-value bio-products including insect protein.
• Embalagem do Futuro (Agenda Mobilizadora)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmbalagem do Futuro (Green Agendas – PRR) is a mobilizing agenda focused on ecological, digital, and inclusive packaging solutions, led by VANGEST with 84 national entities. Thunder Foods participates as the end-user of the technological packaging developed, collaborating with OONIFY on image and communication requirements for new packaging.
• CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, Universidade de AveirominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThunder Foods collaborates with CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials and the Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV/REQUIMTE) at Universidade NOVA de Lisboa on a non-academic PhD scholarship. Pedro Moleiro is researching sustainable and scalable technology for protein extraction from Tenebrio molitor using bio-based ionic liquids, with the goal of implementing alternative solvents and industrial-scale protein extraction methodologies.
• INEGI and University of AveirominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThunder Foods welcomed a team from University of Aveiro and INEGI to conduct a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) as part of the One Health axis of the InsectERA Mobilising Agenda, assessing social, environmental, and economic impacts of operations.
• Egas Moniz School of Health & ScienceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThunder Foods presented at Vasco da Gama University School's Animal Nutrition class for Bioveterinary Sciences students. The company also maintains an ongoing academic connection through founder Daniel Murta's role as Assistant Professor at the Egas Moniz School of Health & Science veterinary school.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ÿnsect: French insect protein company producing Tenebrio molitor (mealworm) for food and feed. Most direct comparable — same species, similar B2B ingredient-supply model, and far more advanced in scale and capital intensity.
• InnovaFeed: French insect protein company (BSF) supplying aquafeed and pet food ingredients to major B2B customers (e.g., Cargill, ADM). Comparable B2B ingredient-supply GTM into food/feed value chains.
• Protix: Dutch insect protein producer (Black Soldier Fly) for food and feed applications. Operates an established industrial facility and supplies B2B ingredients — directly comparable industrial B2B insect-protein model.
• AgriProtein: South Africa-founded insect protein producer (BSF) for animal feed and fertilizer, now operating internationally (rebranded elements include Maltento). Comparable circular-economy dual-product model (protein + frass).
• Nutrition Technologies: Singapore-based insect protein producer running BSF and Tenebrio molitor for feed and fertilizer. Comparable dual-product (protein + frass) B2B model with circular feedstock inputs.
• Aspire Food Group: North American insect protein company producing crickets and mealworms for human food. Comparable B2B protein-ingredient supply into food brands.
• EntoGreen: Portuguese insect producer (Black Soldier Fly) for animal feed, spun off from the same parent (Ingredient Odyssey SA) that incubated Thunder Foods. Same national market, same origins, and closest Iberian geographic peer.

Emerging players

• Entocycle: UK-based insect protein startup (BSF) focused on pet food and aquaculture. Earlier-stage comparable with similar B2B ingredient ambitions.
• Hexafly: Irish insect protein producer (BSF) for feed and pet food, with circular-economy byproducts. EU-based, comparable scale and dual-product business model.

Others

• Bühler Group: Swiss industrial-equipment provider that has developed insect-processing technology lines. Not a competitor but a critical technology partner/enabler for industrial insect-protein operators including Thunder Foods.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thunder-foods
• Instagraminstagram.com/thunderfoods_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Thunder Foods