Ÿnsect raises €160 million, but closes Dutch production plant and cuts 20% of workforce

Paris-based natural insect protein maker Ÿnsect has raised €160 million in a new funding round. According to the company, the new capital will be used to shift away from its current modus operandi of primarily animal feed to the more lucrative markets of pet foods and food ingredients.

The company declined to comment on the investors of this newest raise, citing that a second tranche was in discussions, however, previous backers of the company include Bpi France, the European Commission, Belgium’s Astanor Ventures, and French bank Caisse d’Epargne.

Citing soaring costs across the board (energy, raw materials, and debt), as the company refocuses on higher profit outputs, Ÿnsect will cease operations of its Dutch production plant that was brought on board through the acquisition of Protifarm approximately two years ago.

The shutdown equates to 35 job cuts, while another 38 positions are slated to go according to company CEO Antoine Hubert. According to Ÿnsect, they have 360 people employed, thus resulting in a 20.27% reduction of the workforce.

In an interview with Reuters, Hubert explained, “In an environment where there is inflation on energy and raw materials but also on the cost of capital and debt, we cannot afford to invest loads of resources in markets which are the least remunerative (animal feed), while you have other markets where there is a lot of demand, good returns and higher margins.”