Oct. 04, 2022

Investment in Nutrition Technologies, an insect-based alternative protein manufacturer

Sumitomo Corporation has invested in Nutrition Technologies (“NT”), a startup manufacturer producing insect-based alternative protein in Malaysia. Going forward, we will promote collaboration with NT to expand the market for their products and develop high value-added products, thereby contributing to stable and sustainable food production across the world.

Due to the global population growth and westernization of dietary habits, the demand for protein is projected to double from 2005 levels, giving rise to concerns about worldwide protein shortages. The existing protein production supplied by agriculture, livestock and fisheries industries is consuming enormous amounts of grains as well as land and natural resources. Therefore, it will likely not satisfy the sufficient levels of future world’s protein demand. Thus, the protein sources with less environmental impact are needed, and insects are drawing broader attention for this purpose. The insect-based protein industry has begun to develop into a sizable market, presently supplying products primarily for animal consumption, such as pet food and livestock and fishery feeds. In the future, the market is expected to expand by the growth of products processed for human. Some reports estimate that the market will grow significantly from 17.5 billion yen (as of 2020) to 350 billion yen by 2030.

NT was established in 2015 by two former United Nations officials who had strong concerns about the food problem. NT has their headquarter in Singapore, then built their own plant in Malaysia in 2020 to raise and process black soldier flies (BSF). Now it has grown into Asia’s largest insect-based alternative protein manufacturer. Since it has strengths in reproductive capacity, protein concentration and pathogenic resistance, BSF is expected to become the promising protein source more than other potential insect sources, such as crickets and locusts, particularly from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). NT has developed unique BSF manufacturing techniques and systems, specifically for collecting food residue and by-products from local factories and plantations to use them as feed to raise BSF, dehydrating and drying the larvae, and processing the materials into the high-quality protein. These capabilities are efficiently exercised at the first plant in Malaysia, taking advantage of the local warm climate to eliminate the need for heating facilities for raising BSF, thereby achieving more environmentally friendly protein production.

At Sumitomo Corporation, its Animal Health Science Department, which engages chiefly in the animal health product business for pets and livestock, is in charge of the NT business. The department will promote the development and marketing of insect-based protein feed by capitalizing on the knowledge and networks of existing businesses. We will also work to utilize oil and frass* which are generated from the manufacturing process as materials for developing cosmetics, quasi-drugs, chemicals, organic fertilizers, and other high value-added products. Pursuing the strategic partnership with NT, a startup committed to creating a recycling-oriented sustainable self-sufficient economy, we will be in harmony with the global environment by accelerating our efforts toward effective use of limited natural resources and the creation of a recycling-oriented society.

*Frass: solid excreta from insects and other related matter

■Outline of Nutrition Technologies

Company name	Nutrition Technologies Ltd
Representative	Thomas William Berry, Nicholas Patrick James Piggott
Address	20A Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088443
Establishment	2015
Main business	Manufacturing and sales of BSF products
Website	https://www.nutrition-technologies.com/