BUG

Summary

Edible insects are a sustainable, delicious, superfood and BUG is on a mission to take them mainstream. Their recipe kits make it easy to cook tasty insect meals at home – averaged a 30%+ MoM growth rate of meals sold during their beta testing. BUG are looking to scale their delicious grub and become THE brand for edible insects.

• Aiming to build the UK's go-to brand for edible insects
• Entering £1.1bn serviceable addressable market across the UK
• Strong core team with connections to Waitrose and Tesco
• Recipes showcased by celebrity Chef Prue Leith

Idea

We are facing a climate crisis. Demand for protein is projected to double in the next 30 years and livestock farming is estimated to already contribute to over 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Edible insects offer a solution to a more sustainable food system, as a cleaner, greener and more efficient protein source. Already eaten in over 80% of countries by more than 2bn people, insects aren’t only sustainable but are good for you and incredibly delicious.

The problem is, there is currently no easy way to incorporate insects into your diet in the West. BUG is on a mission to change that. Our recipe kits make it easy to cook sustainable, healthy and delicious insect meals at home – showcasing bugs as the delicious and versatile ingredient they are. We will initially sell our kits D2C, but will look to expand into retail and foodservice by 2022.

BUG started life as a passion project in 2018, with founders Leo and Aaron buying insects from pet food stores and shooting insect recipe videos out of their garage for fun. Since then, we have developed and tested our kits selling over 1000 meals without any marketing budget, and have been featured by the likes of Prue Leith, The Guardian, The Grocer and Business Insider.

We are now raising funds to scale the business and begin getting our delicious grub on dinner tables across the country!

Team

Leo Taylor – CEO, Co-founder

Leo has a background in design – having designed for a range of health and sustainability-focused food brands selling into the UK’s major supermarkets (Sainsburys, Ocado, Waitrose). Having grown up in South-East Asia, Leo’s insect evangelism started as a child – and persists to this day!

Aaron Thomas – COO, Co-founder

Aaron is the team’s entomologist, previously at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, researching new technology for insect and disease control and leading the operations to bring them to market. Before BUG, Aaron made insect burgers out of his kitchen selling to his local community.

Will Dickinson – CFO, Chief Food Officer

Will was Head Development Chef at a leading food manufacturer, designing the recipes and ready meals for major supermarkets including Waitrose, Co-op and Tesco.

Donna Egan – Advisor

Donna brings Marketing and General Management expertise, with previous senior roles at meal kit company Gousto, Colgate Palmolive and American Express.

Ben Cooper – Advisor

Ben is a former C-Suite executive in the financial services sector and is now an entrepreneur, angel investor and advisor to both start-up and scale-up firms.

Alvaro Baudet – Advisor

Alvaro is a Strategy and Operations advisor working with SMEs and large multinational corporations – such as Procter & Gamble and Ernst & Young.