# France’s Ynsect to refocus bug business after capital increase Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2023-04-17 Category: NEWS Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news Meta Title: Ynsect to refocus bug business after capital increase Meta Description: Amid raising 160 million euros, Ynsect will close plant, cut jobs, and invest in flagship insect farm for pet food, nutrition, and fertilisers. URL: https://financedigest.com/frances-ynsect-to-refocus-bug-business-after-capital-increasehtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2023-04-16t200422z2lynxmpej3f089rtroptp4france-ynsect-1736814142027-compressed.jpg) # France’s Ynsect to refocus bug business after capital increase By Sybille de La Hamaide PARIS (Reuters) – French insect-based ingredients maker Ynsect will refocus its strategy on high-margin markets like pet food, shut a production plant and cut jobs after raising 160 million euros ($177 million) from investors, its chief executive said. The company, which is in talks for additional funding, will use the money to finance expansion of its flagship vertical insect farm in Amiens in northern France, the world’s largest, and for new projects, Antoine Hubert told Reuters in an interview. Farmed bugs, such as mealworms, are ground down to produce proteins for aquaculture, livestock, pet food, fertilisers and human nutrition. They are considered more environmentally friendly proteins because they require less land and water than crops and emit fewer greenhouse gases. But the technology is costly, making the meal far more expensive than its plant-based alternatives. In an environment where there is inflation on energy and [raw materials](https://www.financedigest.com/syngenta-4q-profit-falls-as-raw-material-prices-increase.html "Syngenta 4Q profit falls as raw material prices increase") but also on the cost of capital and debt, we cannot afford to invest loads of resources in markets which are the least remunerative (animal feed), while you have other markets where there is a lot of demand, good returns and higher margins,” Hubert said, referring to pet food, human nutrition and fertilisers. Ynsect will close its Dutch production plant, acquired through the takeover of Protifarm in 2021, which rears a different type of bug, while keeping research activities. This will lead to 35 [job cuts](https://www.financedigest.com/icrc-to-cut-some-1500-jobs-as-humanitarian-budgets-seen-sliding.html "ICRC to cut some 1,500 jobs as humanitarian budgets seen sliding"). In addition the company will [cut 38 jobs](https://www.financedigest.com/inpost-sees-better-margin-in-poland-plans-no-job-cuts-this-year.html "InPost sees better margin in Poland, plans no job cuts this year") in France, out of a total of about 360 people, Hubert said. Ynsect, which announced agreements in December to build insect ingredient production sites in the United States and Mexico, has signed sales deals for 180 million euros over three [years and is in talks](https://www.financedigest.com/extraordinary-rollercoaster-good-friday-talks-remembered-25-years-on.html "‘Extraordinary rollercoaster’, Good Friday talks remembered 25 years on") for an additional 1 billion euros, of which more than half is for pet food, he also said. In its latest round of fund raising in 2020 Ynsect brought in more than 315 [million euros](https://www.financedigest.com/germanys-merck-to-invest-300-million-euros-in-us-gas-plant.html "Germany’s Merck to invest 300 million euros in US gas plant"), of which about 175 million euros was capital and the rest in debt and subsidies. ($1 = 0.9051 euros) (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Sharon Singleton) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---