Tony Stark loves insects: Iron Man endorses French mealworm producer live on US television

By Jane Byrne

- Last updated on GMT

Ÿnsect’s flagship product branded as ŸnMeal © Ÿnsect
Ÿnsect’s flagship product branded as ŸnMeal © Ÿnsect

Related tags mealworm Insect Protein

French mealworm derived protein company, Ÿnsect, just got a huge global plug courtesy of Ironman himself, Robert Downey Jr.

Following the Super Bowl in the US, the Hollywood star and founder of LA based, FootPrint Coalition, Robert Downey Jr was the guest of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The actor showed the audience products from Ÿnsect, describing them as world changing: "It is an innovation just in, if we make this switch it is a huge intervention. It just feels like the future.”

Ÿnsect’s flagship product is ŸnMeal, a powder derived from farmed mealworm larvae.

October 2020 saw the French company attract substantial financing from various global investors, with Robert Downey Jr’s FootPrint Coalition among them. That investment fund is tackling issues like deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and microplastics.

Also backing Ÿnsect was Astanor Ventures, another US based investor, Upfront Ventures, Hong-Kong-based, Happiness Capital, Supernova Invest, and the Armat Group, which is based in Luxembourg.

That investment round took the French insect protein pioneer to US$425m in terms of total funds raised to date

The capital will allow Ÿnsect to complete an insect farm, currently under construction in the city of Amiens, in northern France, which is due to open in early 2022, as well as grow its product lines and expand into North America by leveraging the support of its US-based investors.

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