Insect Products as Feed Market to Reach CAGR 13% by 2031 Top 10 Company Globally

Insect products used as feed primarily protein meals and oils derived from species such as black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), mealworms and crickets are an emergent but fast-growing segment of the alternative-protein and sustainable feed markets. The rise of insect products as feed is driven by several converging factors. The global aquaculture industry continues to expand while facing mounting pressure to reduce dependence on traditional protein sources such as fishmeal and soybean meal, which are increasingly volatile in price and environmentally intensive to produce. Insects offer a biologically efficient solution, capable of converting organic waste into protein with significantly lower land, water, and carbon footprints. Additionally, insect meal contains amino acid profiles closely matching fishmeal, making it a competitive alternative in high-performance feed formulations. The resulting circular economy model turning waste streams into animal nutrition inputs has positioned insect protein as a critical component of future sustainable food systems. The industrys demand mix is driven by aquaculture first, followed by poultry, pet food and swine/other livestock, with growing interest from specialty feeds and fertilizers (frass) markets. (Context and price comparisons with fishmeal/soy and industry-scale examples appear in cited reports and news articles below.)
The 2024 global insect products as feed market size of USD 280 million in 2024 with a projected CAGR of 13% to 2031, reaching market size USD 645 million by 2031. With an average selling price of USD 3,000 per ton, implies a total of 93,333 ton sold in 2024. Factory gross margin is 30% implies factory gross profit is USD 600 per ton and cost of good of USD 2,400 per ton. A COGS breakdown is feed/substrate and substrate logistics, processing (drying, oil rendering and protein milling), labor and staffing, energy (heating/drying), packaging/logistics and a small share of overhead/compliance. A single line full machine capacity production is around 1,500 ton per line per year. Downstream demand is weighted heavily to aquaculture followed by poultry, pet food and swine/other.
Latest Trends and Technological Developments
The sectors most visible developments through 2024 to 2025 center on large-scale black soldier fly (BSF) industrialization, automation/robotics in rearing lines, and integration of insect farms with food-waste / by-product supply chains (to reduce feedstock costs and carbon footprint). A major industry story: Innovafeed opened and publicized its large-scale Nesle, France automated BSF facility and expansion plans the Washington Post coverage of the worlds biggest bug farm (Innovafeed) appeared August 2025, describing automated trays, AI/robotics monitoring, and a target production above 10,000 tpa for a mature plant, while noting the industrys profitability challenges. News and feature reporting throughout 2024 to 2025 also highlighted pilot projects converting municipal and food-processor waste into substrate for larvae, community-level BSF projects improving local feed security (for example Project Mila in Kenya reported Oct 11, 2024), and new research on optimizing BSF diets to increase biomass and reduce contaminant risk (academic reviews and 2025 studies). Investors and feed integrators are watching automation, energy sourcing (waste heat integration), and regulatory wins for feed approvals as the most important technological drivers.
Cargill, a global leader in animal nutrition, has proactively sourced insect meal to incorporate into its specialty feed lines. For instance, Cargill has purchased significant quantities of black soldier fly larvae meal from nsect, a leading French insect producer, for use in its aquaculture and pet food formulations. Such contracts often involve purchases amounting to $2,000 - $2,500 per metric ton of defatted insect protein, reflecting the premium value placed on this sustainable ingredient as an alternative to fishmeal.

The product is actively used by Mowi, the world's largest Atlantic salmon farmer, in its commercial fish feed. Mowi has integrated insect meal from producers like Innovafeed into the diets of their farmed salmon at selected sites. This application, amounting to the inclusion of approximately 5-10% insect meal per feed ton (valued at a similar premium of over $2,000 per ton), has proven successful in supporting fish health and growth while significantly reducing the feed's reliance on traditional marine resources, thereby lowering the ecological footprint of their operations.
Asia is a core growth region for insect feed due to cultural acceptance of insects in some markets, existing smallholder and commercial insect farms, expanding aquaculture, and dense sources of food-processing by-products to feed larvae. Countries across East and Southeast Asia host both early-stage startups and larger players experimenting with vertical integration (waste supplier + farm + feed compounder). Price sensitivity in Asia is significant because conventional feed ingredients (soy, fishmeal) remain relatively affordable in many markets; this makes cost reduction through cheap substrate (food/industry by-products), energy efficiency and automation essential. Several pan-Asia and EU-based companies are targeting Asian expansions and partnerships with local feed mills, while domestic start-ups in Indonesia and neighbouring ASEAN nations focus on small-to-mid scale production, community projects, and co-products (frass fertilizer) to diversify revenue. Regulatory clarity and feed approval pathways in Asian countries are evolving but remain uneven, which affects adoption speed.
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Insect Products as Feed by Type:
Fly Larvae

Meal Worms

Others

Insect Products as Feed by Product Category:
Black Soldier Fly (BSF)

Mealworms

Crickets

Grasshoppers

Others

Insect Products as Feed by Market Segment:
Dry Feed

Wet Feed

Insect Products as Feed by Product Division:
High-Protein Feed

High-Fat Feed

Fiber-Enriched Feed

Mineral and Vitamin-Enriched Feed

Others

Insect Products as Feed by Shape:
Powder Form

Pelletized Feed

Flake Form

Liquid Concentrates

Others

Insect Products as Feed by Application:
Aquaculture

Pet Food

Animal Feed

Others

Global Top 10 Key Companies in the Insect Products as Feed Market
AgriProtein

Ynsect

ADM Capital

Entofood

Entomo Farms

InnovaFeed

Enviroflight

Hexafly

HiProMine

Protix

Regional Insights
Within ASEAN, interest is concentrated where aquaculture intensity is high (Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines). Indonesia with a very large aquaculture and poultry sector shows growing local pilot farms and startups experimenting with BSF and mealworm production, and an active NGO/academic ecosystem testing frass use and smallholder feed blends. ASEAN projects frequently emphasize circular-economy models: collecting market and processing waste as insect substrate and returning protein to local feed supply chains. Adoption barriers in ASEAN include scale-up capital, inconsistent feed safety standards, and the need for local feed-formulation trials to demonstrate performance parity with conventional ingredients. Public-private pilots and donor-funded projects in Southeast Asia have demonstrated local benefits combining waste management with feed production.
Principal industry challenges remain: 1) the unit cost of insect meal is still higher than major incumbents (soy/forage fish), which constrains broad substitution without premium pricing or regulatory support; 2) regulatory approvals and standardized safety guidelines (for feed and frass) vary by region and slow commercial contracts; 3) financing and cashflow for capital-intensive automated plants are difficult the industry sees high-profile restructurings and bankruptcies even as other firms secure strategic partners; and 4) scaling sustainably requires reliable low-cost substrate (waste/by-product) and low-carbon energy sources (waste heat, renewables) to protect the environmental argument. The media and trade reports emphasize that commercialization has two parallel tracks premium applications (pet food, specialty aquafeed formulations) and low-cost, high-volume approaches.
Manufacturers should prioritize integration with stable substrate suppliers (food processors, breweries, starch/ethanol plants) and reduce energy and drying costs through co-location and waste-heat usage; invest in automation/AI to lower labor intensity and standardize quality; pursue feed trials with leading aquafeed and compound-feed firms to build reference customers; and diversify revenue via co-products (oil fractions and frass fertilizer). Feed companies and aquaculture integrators should pilot insect meal blends in high-value feed lines to capture sustainability premiums while collecting performance data; regulatory engagement and joint research with universities will accelerate acceptance; and strategic offtake or equity partnerships with industrial insect producers can secure premium sustainable protein supply at negotiated pricing.

Product Models
Insect products as feed are rapidly gaining attention as sustainable and nutrient-rich alternatives to traditional protein sources in animal nutrition.
Fly larvae-based feed products are protein meals, oils, and powders derived mainly from Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL). They are rich in protein, fats, and minerals, making them an eco-friendly and efficient alternative to fishmeal and soybean meal in animal, aquaculture, and pet feed formulations. Notable products include:
Hi.Protein - Protix: A high-quality black soldier fly larvae meal rich in essential amino acids, ideal for aquafeed and poultry feed.
EntoMeal - EnviroFlight: A protein-rich meal derived from BSFL designed to replace fishmeal in aquaculture diets.
Hermet Protein - Hexafly: A sustainable protein powder extracted from dried black soldier fly larvae for livestock feed.
BSF Meal - AgriProtein: A nutrient-dense insect meal containing up to 55% protein, suitable for poultry and swine diets.
InnovaFeed Protein Meal - InnovaFeed: A premium-grade insect meal offering high digestibility for fish and pets.
Mealworm-based feed products are sustainable protein ingredients made from the larvae of Tenebrio molitor (mealworms). They provide a balanced nutrient profile with high-quality protein and essential amino acids, commonly used in poultry, aquaculture, and premium pet feed to enhance growth and digestion. Examples include:
Mealworm Protein 70 - nsect: A highly concentrated mealworm protein ingredient for aquaculture and premium pet food.
Tenebrio Meal - Beta Hatch: A protein meal from Tenebrio molitor, tailored for poultry and fish feed formulations.
MealWorm Gold - EntoFood: A premium feed ingredient formulated from dried mealworms for pets and small livestock.
EcoMeal Worm Protein - MealFood Europe: Sustainable European-produced mealworm protein suitable for feed and pet food industries.
Mealworm Meal Beta Hatch: A high-protein mealworm ingredient designed for aquaculture, poultry and other animal feeds, offering digestibility and palatability advantages.

Insect products for feed represent a compelling sustainable-protein opportunity with strong tailwinds from aquaculture demand, waste-to-feed circularity, and premium pet/ specialty feed markets. However, near-term commercial success depends on lowering production costs through scale, automation and secure low-cost substrate sourcing; securing regulatory clarity and feed-trial evidence; and patient capital to withstand the transition from pilot to full commercial scale. Investors and strategic feed companies that focus on supply-chain integration, partnering with large feed houses, and adopting automation and energy-efficient plant design will be best positioned to capture value as the sector moves from niche to larger-scale adoption.

Investor Analysis
What investors should watch: unit economics (USD/ton), proven long-term offtake contracts with feed integrators (especially aquafeed companies), access to low-cost substrate, evidence of repeatable margin by plant design, and regulatory approvals in target markets. How investors can capture value: provide growth capital to build integrated, co-located facilities (near starch/ethanol mills, food processors or waste heat sources), fund automation and process R&D to reduce OPEX, and back strategic offtake agreements or joint ventures with established feed manufacturers to secure demand. Why it matters: the sector addresses material sustainability pressures in aquaculture and animal feed, and successful scale-up can reduce reliance on forage fish and deforestation-linked soy while capturing premium pricing in sustainability-focused feed segments. However, the path to attractive returns depends on rigorous techno-economic validation, regional regulatory progress and the ability to reduce the current price premium (or lock in customers that will pay the premium).
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5 Reasons to Buy This Report
It combines a market size , selling price and CAGR with current industry reporting and recent news to produce actionable market sizing and unit-economics context.
Provides Asia and ASEAN-specific insights focused on substrate access, aquaculture demand and regulatory nuances.
Highlights operational benchmarks (COGS structure, typical plant capacities and realistic margin targets) useful for capex and feasibility planning.
Covers the most recent, high-impact industry developments and company moves (automation, large BSF plants and strategic partnerships) with dated news citations.
Offers investor-focused strategy exact items to watch, and practical how-to actions for reducing OPEX and securing offtake
5 Key Questions Answered
What is the practical unit economics at market price and how constrained are factory gross margins?
Which downstream markets will buy insect protein first, and in what relative proportions?
What production capacity per automated line or large plant should a prospective builder assume for financial planning?
What are the main technological levers to reduce costs (substrate sourcing, automation, waste-heat co-location)?
Which companies and business models are proving scalable or strategic for partnerships in Asia and globally?
Chapter Outline
Chapter 1: Introduces the report scope of the report, executive summary of different market segments (by region, product type, application, etc), including the market size of each market segment, future development potential, and so on. It offers a high-level view of the current state of the market and its likely evolution in the short to mid-term, and long term.
Chapter 2: key insights, key emerging trends, etc.
Chapter 3: Manufacturers competitive analysis, detailed analysis of the product manufacturers competitive landscape, price, sales and revenue market share, latest development plan, merger, and acquisition information, etc.
Chapter 4: Provides profiles of key players, introducing the basic situation of the main companies in the market in detail, including product sales, revenue, price, gross margin, product introduction, recent development, etc.
Chapter 5 & 6: Sales, revenue of the product in regional level and country level. It provides a quantitative analysis of the market size and development potential of each region and its main countries and introduces the market development, future development prospects, market space, and market size of each country in the world.
Chapter 7: Provides the analysis of various market segments by Type, covering the market size and development potential of each market segment, to help readers find the blue ocean market in different market segments.
Chapter 8: Provides the analysis of various market segments by Application, covering the market size and development potential of each market segment, to help readers find the blue ocean market in different downstream markets.
Chapter 9: Analysis of industrial chain, including the upstream and downstream of the industry.
Chapter 10: The main points and conclusions of the report.

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