Innovafeed, the world’s leading producer of functional and sustainable insect-based ingredients (Hermetia illucens) for animal nutrition, pet food and agriculture, has announced the completion of its industrialization phase and a reorganization of its activities around the Nesle site, now focused on the commercial development of its product ranges.
A new €51 million funding round supports this new phase, largely backed by its financial partners. A pioneer in Europe’s green industrial transition, Innovafeed has successfully completed the necessary steps to take an innovation from the laboratory bench to an industrial and commercial reality Since its inception, Innovafeed has been driven by a clear ambition: to develop local, sustainable, and high-performance ingredients to meet the growing needs of animal nutrition. To build this new industry, the company has invested massively in its large-scale technology and in demonstrating the performance of its products across all its markets.
Following the last funding round in 2022, the company has achieved three major milestones:
- Industrial maturity: its Nesle production unit is now fully operational. In three years, it has already produced over 15,000 tons of protein and oil; production volumes have increased tenfold, while production costs have been divided by seven. The scale achieved, critical for product competitiveness, is unprecedented in this sector and is currently three times larger than the world’s second-largest player
- Strong commercial traction: revenues have doubled each year, driven by structured partnerships with clients who value the nutritional performance and functional benefits of the HiluciaTM product range
- Demonstrated environmental impact: thanks to the circularity of its world-unique industrial symbiosis model, the products deliver a -70% to -90% reduction in carbon emissions compared to conventional products.
Fabio Brambilla Ph.D., Nutritionnist at NaturAlleva, said,
“Innovafeed’s products represent one of the key solutions for more sustainable and highperforming aquaculture. After many years of studying the benefits of this raw material in the nutrition of sea bass, sea bream, and trout, we have made the decision to use these new ingredients on a very broad scale. This scale-up is made possible today by Innovafeed’s technological breakthrough, which is currently the most advanced in Europe.”
A new stage of its growth
Following an intense phase of R&D and industrial development that successfully cleared critical operational maturity milestones, the company is embarking on a new stage of its growth. In this context, it is initiating a reorganization of its activities, specifically the reduction of zootechnical R&D activities and their integration from its historical Gouzeaucourt site into the Nesle facility.
A project involving the reduction of 60 positions is planned, two-thirds of which affect the Gouzeaucourt site. This evolution of the organization will be carried out with dedicated support for the employees concerned, within the framework of close social dialogue with the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) of the company and the competent authorities.
In its new phase of development, the company will redirect its investments toward commercial deployment and operational excellence.
The new financing operation will specifically enable Innovafeed to:
- Accelerate the commercial development of the HiluciaTM ranges, particularly within the functional segments of aquaculture and pet food;
- Invest in industrial equipment and processes in order to develop new offerings and applications;
- Optimize the industrial asset base to increase the performance and capacities of the production lines.
Confident in the solidity of Innovafeed’s industrial model, its growth trajectory, and the potential of its ingredients to meet the long-term challenges of the agri-food sectors, the operation received very broad support from its historical shareholders, notably Creadev, QIA, Temasek, FFC, ABC Impact, and ADM, as well as its banking partners.
Bénédicte Monpert, Food Managing Director at Creadev, said,
“Over the past five years, Innovafeed has won its industrial bet and developed a world-unique asset: a fully operational large-scale production facility that enables highly optimized production of ingredients with functional properties that are valued by pet food and aquaculture players.”
Clément Ray, CEO and cofounder of Innovafeed, said,
“Since day one, we have carried a dual ambition: to demonstrate that we can produce high performing, competitive, and sustainable ingredients for nutrition without relying on the intensive exploitation of marine resources; and that it is possible to build an innovative industrial project in France. The successful scale-up of our industrial model marks a major milestone for Innovafeed today and opens up a new phase of commercial deployment. Innovafeed is now focusing its efforts on accelerating the development of value chains for its ingredients, capturing the full value of their multiple functional properties improving animal health and growth, which have been validated and proven for ten years now. We must also adapt our organization to this new phase by reducing industrial and zootechnical R&D activities, while continuing to invest alongside our customers to demonstrate functionalities and performance of our products. The talents who made up our R&D and industrial teams enabled us to reach unprecedented milestones in the sector. While we must take demanding measures to adjust our organization to this new phase, we are deeply committed to recognizing the dedication of our teams over the past years and to implementing this transformation plan responsibly, in full respect of social dialogue and in close connection with local authorities.”
As global food systems face mounting pressure to reduce dependence on marine resources, Innovafeed’s proven model offers a commercially viable and scalable answer. The next chapter has begun.
