Good Grub: Transforming food waste into profit using the power of insect protein

Pivoting from pies to flies isn't a typical startup journey, but for Good Grub co-founder Jessie Stanley, the harms of traditional food production are too significant to ignore.  

Following her success in co-founding We Love Pies, Stanley's mission is to transform food waste into healthy, profitable insect protein for plants and animals. 

Food waste alone accounts for approximately 6% of total greenhouse emissions. With the global population projected to reach just under 10 billion by 2050, more mouths to feed will inevitably lead to more waste.

"We waste 40% of the food generated on the planet," Stanley told Caffeine. 

"And if you think about the total global food producing systems, whether it be how we grow, transport, or dispose of food. All that combined contributes up to 37% of total greenhouse gas emissions." 

But while feeding humans sustainably is difficult enough, feeding a furry family member sparked Stanley's inspiration for Good Grub.

"I had a personal experience with those gross pouches you feed your pets, and I thought: 'Oh, this is bad on so many levels! Where's a sustainable option for pet food? It doesn't exist. This is not OK." 

Like any good founder, she decided to make it exist. However, also like in any startup, the process wasn't without trial and error and she ended up borrowing her sister's bathroom as a makeshift test lab before landing on the key ingredient. 

"I discovered this amazing insect that not only provides incredible health and well-being attributes for our animals, whether it be pets or aquaculture, but it is also sustainable," Stanley explained. 

Found worldwide, the Black Soldier Fly reaches maturity in weeks, compared to two years for a cow. Good Grub tackles two issues simultaneously by feeding the flies' existing waste to produce new protein.  

"It's almost like a double whammy as a double-sided hit for reducing harmful emissions and fixing our broken food chain. It's really profound as to what it can do for the global food chain and help secure future protein."

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The protein powder Good Grub creates is particularly useful in aquaculture but can also be fed to poultry and even humans. Though Stanley says normalising bugs for breakfast isn't the goal.

"Insect protein for human consumption can be a red herring because there's all the alternative vegetable proteins in the market that I think are far more compelling and easy for humans to get on board with."

But while feeding farmed animals and pets is already a massive economic and environmental opportunity, the potential market for insect protein could be even greater. 

Good Grub's process also creates a sustainable fertiliser, offering the potential to disrupt a $300b global market and its massive environmental impacts.

"It's a biofertiliser, which means not only does it have your traditional nutrients, it's got a whole host of other layers to it that can help improve the mycorrhizal fungi network in the soil, which has been so badly depleted." 

Good Grub has a $3.5 million grant from the government in hand but is looking to scale up over the next 12 months. 

One of eight companies which pitched at the Icehouse Ventures Annual Showcase last week, Good Grub hopes to complete a $4m capital raise to establish a demonstration facility in South Auckland. 

In the long term, Good Grub wants to build multiple facilities to grow the business and reduce the environmental impact of logistics.  

"We'd like to be opening up new facilities every two years, maybe even every nine months. We'd look to set up factories and process more waste. We intend to be in multiple sites in New Zealand because you don't want to transport waste."

As for her advice to other founders, Stanley believes success comes from leaning on your community while prioritising self-care. 

"Make sure you're really connected to other founders. Knowing you're not alone gives you energy," she said. 

"This work takes a lot out of you, and you are a human being. You need to nurture yourself, from the way you sleep to everything else you do. You are a whole system with a cycle and nutrition that needs looking after."