ST. LOUIS — Culinary cricket cultivator Mighty Cricket is getting $650,000 as the company looks to bolster insect growth and improve taste.
The St. Louis-based company is now funded through the next phase of its efforts to convert food waste into nutritious cricket feed, thanks to a Small Business Innovation Research grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In its first phase Mighty Cricket secured about 11,000 pounds of weekly pre-consumer food waste from local partners, such as Companion Bakery and Marson Foods.
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Mighty Cricket found that they were able to successfully feed the waste to the crickets and that the crickets continued to reproduce and thrive, according to a press release.
In phase two, Mighty Cricket will focus on developing its feed formulation.
“Bringing our total funding to $1 million, this grant enables us to enhance the flavor of the crickets and secure our first patent,” Sarah Schlafly, founder of Mighty Cricket, said in a statement.
Mighty Cricket was founded in 2018. It processes crickets into a nutrient-rich protein supplement powder. The company raises the bugs in Wildwood and was previously awarded federal grant money that allowed the company to grow its team, purchase equipment and rent space.
Mighty Cricket’s protein powders (available in chocolate, vanilla and unflavored varieties) and oatmeal (in apple cinnamon, coconut cream and dark chocolate flavors) can be purchased through Amazon and mightycricket.com.
