Exo Inc.

Exo is an American insect food company that manufactures protein bars using cricket flour from pulverized house crickets.[1][2] The products are marketed as a good source of nutrition.[3]

A cricket flour energy bar with the equivalent of approximately 40 crickets in each bar

History

The company was founded by Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz in 2013, during their graduate program at the Brown University campus.[4] They first ordered 2000 crickets and worked on some of the prototype recipes from them. They later shifted to New York and worked with Kyle Connaughton, an R&D expert at the Fat Duck restaurant, to make a nutritious protein bar that was also appealing to the palate.[5] The bars were described as being "high in protein, low in sugar, incredibly nutritionally dense, and packed with omega 3 fatty acids, iron and calcium" and "free of unnatural sugars, gluten, grains, dairy, soy, artificial preservatives and anything processed".[6][7][8][9] In addition to "slow roasted and milled crickets", the products contain "organic and all-natural ingredients such as raw cacao, dates, almond butter and coconut".[6]

Exo sells its bars from its website and other marketplaces.

Using Kickstarter, the company's founders raised $55,000 in early 2016, exceeding the initial target of $20,000.[6]

By March 2016, the company had raised a total of $5.6 million from early investors and Series A funding.[10][11]

Exo was acquired by Aspire Food Group in the spring of 2018.[12][13] All of Aspire’s in-house Aketta branded products will now become part of the Exo brand.[14]

References
  1. "This startup just got $4 million to get you to eat more bugs". Techcrunch. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  2. "Mmmm, Crickets: How Exo Protein Bars Found Its Wings". Entrepreneur. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  3. "Cricket Bars Are the Next Trendy Food—And You Might Start Seeing Them In Rap Videos". Observer.com. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  4. "Exo Raises Another $4 Million for Cricket Flour Protein Bars". SnapMunk. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  5. "Cricket Protein Bar Company Exo Rakes in Another $4 Million in Funding". Eater. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  6. "Exo: Protein Bars Made from Cricket Flour". Kickstarter. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  7. "Three Lessons For Entrepreneurs On Getting People To Eat Insects (Or Try Anything New)". Forbes. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  8. "Review: Exo, A Cricket-Based Protein Bar That Won't Destroy Your Productivity". Techcrunch. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  9. "Become an Insectivore for $10". Time. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  10. "Exo, protein bar made from crickets, raises $4M". New York Business Journal. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  11. "Legendary rapper Nas just invested in a company that makes protein bars out of crickets". Business Insider. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  12. foodnavigator-usa.com. "Cricket consolidation: Aspire Food Group acquires Exo". foodnavigator-usa.com. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  13. Bronner, Stephen J. (17 April 2018). "12 Burning Questions for the Entrepreneur Trying to Get You to Eat Bugs". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  14. "Cricket protein companies combine". www.foodbusinessnews.net. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
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