SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Tyson Foods Inc. has forged a transformative partnership with Protix, a prominent global insect ingredients company, marking a significant investment that promises to revolutionize the use of insect ingredients in the food industry. This strategic collaboration aims to promote the growth of the emerging insect ingredient sector and harness insect-based solutions to create more efficient and sustainable proteins and lipids for the global food system.
This agreement leverages Tyson Foods’ global reach, extensive experience, and network with Protix’s cutting-edge technology and market leadership to meet current market demands and scale up the production of insect ingredients.
As part of this venture, Tyson Foods will make a direct equity investment by acquiring a minority stake in Protix, providing essential funding for its global expansion. Additionally, Tyson Foods and Protix are joining forces in a joint venture dedicated to the operation and construction of an insect ingredient facility in the continental United States. Once completed, it will be the first facility of its kind at scale, upcycling byproducts from food manufacturing into high-quality insect proteins and lipids. These products will primarily find application in the pet food, aquaculture, and livestock industries, according to Tyson Foods.
John R. Tyson, Chief Financial Officer of Tyson Foods, commented, “Our partnership with Protix represents the latest strategic investment by Tyson Foods in groundbreaking solutions that drive added value to Tyson Foods’ business. The insect lifecycle provides the opportunity for full circularity within our value chain, strengthening our commitment to building a more sustainable food system for the future.”
Kees Aarts, CEO of Protix, expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “We are very excited to announce the next step in our international growth strategy. Tyson Foods’ and Protix’s strategic partnership advances our joint work towards creating high-quality, more sustainable protein using innovative technology and solutions. Moreover, we can immediately use their existing byproducts as feedstock for our insects. This agreement is a major milestone for Protix and significantly accelerates our ambition to grow through international partnerships.”
The forthcoming facility in the United States will feature an enclosed system designed to support all aspects of insect protein production, encompassing breeding, incubation, and hatching of insect larvae. In addition to catering to the aquaculture and pet food industries, processed larvae may also serve as ingredients within livestock and plant feed.
Protix is a fully integrated insect ingredients company, already producing and processing 14,000 metric tons of Lipid, Larvae, and Exoskeleton (LLE) annually in its Netherlands facility, which has been in operation since 2019. The company serves major global entities in the pet food, aquaculture feed, livestock feed, and organic fertilizer sectors, as the demand for insect ingredients continues to surge.
For more information about Tyson Foods’ sustainability initiatives, visit www.tysonfoods.com/sustainability; for details on Protix, visit https://protix.eu.
