Full Circle Biotechnology—a startup based in Singapore with operations in Bangkok—has raised funds to build a 7,000-ton/year insect protein facility in Kanchanaburi, north-west of Bangkok.
Groundbreaking starts next week with production set to commence at the end of November, founder Felix Collins told AgFunderNews. “We have our entire capacity reserved by existing customers.
“They are farmers across Thailand mostly working in aquaculture in the east, central and southern regions. The volume skews towards shrimp, snakehead and tilapia, but we work with some niche species too such as swamp eel and butter catfish.”
Asked about how vertically integrated the new site is given the speed of construction, he said: “We partner with contractors to supply us with microbes and young larvae. For some product lines we outsource some production steps like pellet coating. The set-up is modular; our immediate priority is scaling production to meet demand, with vertical integration phased in from 2026.”
He added: “We are not disclosing funding or valuation details for this round but can share that investors include Rypples, family offices and high net worth individuals. We secured a blend of equity and non-dilutive funding.”
The Kanchanaburi facility is owned and operated by Full Circle, he explained. “Like other companies in the sector, the modular scalability of our technology is attractive for a distributed model and we are in ongoing conversations on that front, but the global protein crisis warrants as much urgency as possible.
“The nature of our growth over the last 12 months has afforded us access to capital now rare in the region, which has compounded with phenomenal local demand, so it made clear sense for us to set-up and operate the facility ourselves.”
Microbial and insect protein
Full Circle’s protein meal is distinct in the segment as it combines black soldier fly larvae and microbial protein produced via solid state fermentation (microbes feeding on organic waste). According to Collins, the feed can “replace up to 75% of fishmeal in aquaculture, the highest commercial substitution rate to date.
“We run insect and microbial biomass in parallel. The final product is a combination of insect protein, microbial protein and some products of fermentation such as postbiotics.”
While most BSFL processors defat the biomass after harvesting, Full Circle does not have to, he explained.
He added: “We use solid state multi-species fermentation, using feedstock from agri and food/beverage industry byproducts such as cassava pulp from tapioca flour production. We have a growing bank of consistent feedstocks that we can access, all from predictable industrial processes.
“Our algorithm selects appropriate feedstock based on target protein grade, but for every product we have a consistent input stream. Interestingly, the multi-species ecosystems we employ tend to decrease variability and unpredictability.”
The approach enables Full Circle to produce a large range of protein grades, “from soy to super prime fishmeal grade (over 70% protein dry matter, with a lysine ratio that closely mimics fishmeal, though with threonine levels that are better matched to many species’ requirements),” said Collins.
“The product of our biotech is a golden-brown, fine protein meal. We put it into pellets at about a 15% inclusion rate, replacing 75% of fishmeal for most species – those pellets are then distributed straight to farmers.”
Semi-automated facilities
While some players in the space argue that high levels of automation are essential to make the unit economics of industrial scale insect farming add up, Collins noted that “semi-automated facilities have been most effective in our experience.
“Avoiding full automation allows for fewer staff while keeping capex down and enhancing quality assurance touchpoints, which is more appropriate for earlier stage companies.”
Further reading:
BREAKING: Canadian insect ag pioneer Aspire pursues court-supervised rescue deal
Can InsectBiotech crack the code on insect ag economics by tapping into Spain’s olive waste?
Distressed insect ag firm Ÿnsect secures bridge loan, receives offer for pilot plant
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