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They are rich in proteins and unsaturated fatty acids, so they provide a lot of energy and should also be healthy: mealworms, buffalo larvae and grasshoppers.

Since the beginning of 2018 it has been allowed to process insects in food - although there is still no official approval for most crawling animals, at least for Germany there is a special permit until that happens.

Insects are sustainable because breeding requires fewer resources and, in theory, you can get more people fed up than with other farm animals.

That's why many start-ups jumped on the trend three years ago, selling snacks with ground worms, protein powder made from grasshoppers and pasta made from insect meal.

The founders not only had to fight against the rules of the EU Commission, but above all against the disgust of customers.

Not everyone managed it.

The Cologne start-up Swarm, which mixed ground crickets into bars, had to cease business in March.

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Because the demand for protein snacks fell during the lockdown, Swarm said it tried a new product in the fall and brought dog food to the market.

"Unfortunately, our financial resources were not enough to lead our vision of a sustainable protein supply through the corona crisis," the founders now write in a LinkedIn post.

“Unfortunately, we have not been able to convince suitable investors of this vision in recent months.

We just ran out of fuel in the last few meters. "

Nico Rosberg relies on insects

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The Berlin start-up Bearprotein, which sold bars under the name Instinct, has apparently given up.

The articles are no longer in stock in the online shop, the last public contributions are from 2019, and the founders cannot be reached on request.

No bankruptcy has been filed.

But these examples seem to be an exception.

In the TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen” (DHDL), Beneto Foods, which makes pasta from insect meal, recently collected an investment from Nico Rosberg.

The ex-racing driver gave 80,000 euros and valued the start-up at half a million euros.

TV colleague Nils Glagau joined Isaac Nutrition, a provider of protein products, outside of the show in early 2019.

And the Osnabrück start-up Bugfoundation won a strategic investor in autumn.

After the parent company of the sausage brand Wiesenhof had already invested, the meat processor Kupfer is now also a member of the shareholders.

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Most providers wanted to focus on gastronomy a year ago, for example planning collaborations with student unions and canteens.

With the corona pandemic, however, these partnerships collapsed and with it sales: “Up until then, it was a picture-perfect development,” says Lara Schuhwerk from the “DHDL” start-up Beneto Foods.

"We couldn't deliver to all of our customers"

Bugfoundation launched its burger with a new recipe six months ago.

Some restaurants deliver to Osnabrück, a listing in the supermarket has been unsuccessful so far, they say.

The dealers didn't want to experiment, says co-founder Max Krämer in an interview with “Gründerszene”.

From mid-April, however, the endo-vegan patties will be available in individual Rewe stores in Bavaria and northern Germany.

Daniel Mohr, CEO of the insect paste brand Plumento Foods, says: "In 2018 we had the luxury problem that we couldn't deliver to all of the customers who wanted to order from us." Program also available in selected Metro branches.

You can no longer buy the pasta there.

In the meantime, however, the Pforzheim-based company has a solid customer base and mainly delivers repeat orders.

The acceptance has increased

German founders agree that the demand for pasta, flour and burgers made from insects will not die down.

"In 2014 we were looked at with questioning eyes, today everyone has heard of insects in food," says Max Krämer from Bugfoundation.

The acceptance for the unusual ingredient has increased.

"Our business is generally developing very positively," writes Tim Dapprich, co-founder of Isaac Nutrition.

Society is increasingly dealing with climate change and the associated meat consumption, according to the food founders.

People would wonder what the alternatives are.

Which foods are nutritious but ecological.

From Bugfoundation, Beneto Foods and the others, the answer is: insects.