Europe's largest insect farm, driven by Agenda 2030, came to an end despite having received hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private funds allocated to the "alternative" food industry project.
The French company Ÿnsect declared bankruptcy and entered judicial liquidation, thus closing one of the most controversial projects, which had been presented as a key piece in the transformation of the European food system, in line with left-wing progressive initiatives promoted by the European Union.
The company's collapse occurred after it had raised more than 600 million dollars in combined financing, coming from both public bodies and private investors.
Among the supporters were institutional funds, investors, and international personalities. Even the FootPrint Coalition, driven by actor Robert Downey Jr., backed the initiative, which was promoted on U.S. television during the 2021 Super Bowl. In public funds alone, the company received close to 200 million.
The history of Ÿnsect
Ÿnsect was founded with the promise of producing proteins from insects as a "sustainable alternative" to traditional inputs such as soy or fishmeal.
For years, the startup rapidly expanded its operations and its narrative, which was aligned with European left-wing climate policies. However, that expansion did not manage to translate into a profitable business model. The feed market, which is highly competitive and dominated by price, did not validate the high industrial costs of the proposal.
