Making Insect Farming Economics (FINALLY) Viable

The insect farming industry has been through a collapse. Billions have been invested, major insect factories have shut down, and many of Europe’s largest players have gone bankrupt or dramatically scaled back operations. For years the narrative has been that insect protein is simply too expensive, the market is too small, and industrial insect farming may never work at scale. But what if the problem was never insects? What if the real problem was the economics and technology behind first-generation insect factories? Over the last year my team at Flybox travelled extensively across China studying industrial insect factories, automation systems, manufacturing ecosystems and supply chains. We met with operators, engineers and equipment manufacturers and challenged many of the assumptions that had become accepted dogma in Western insect farming. Together with our CTO and engineering team, we completely redesigned the economics of the factory itself: ✅ Lower CAPEX models ✅ New climate and infrastructure strategies ✅ Simpler Automation ✅ Labour optimisation ✅ Waste feedstock focused design ✅ Supply chain restructuring ✅ Industrial-scale economics And for the first time, I believe insect protein can become genuinely cost competitive outside Asia (Less than £1500 / tonne in Europe!) In this video we break down: 🔹 Why first-generation insect factories failed 🔹 Why many existing facilities may still struggle 🔹 The real economics behind insect farming 🔹 CAPEX per tonne explained (£/TPD) 🔹 Operating cost drivers (OPEX) 🔹 Labour, electricity and feedstock costs 🔹 Market pricing realities for insect protein 🔹 Why demand behaves like a pricing pyramid 🔹 How Gen 2 technology changes the numbers 🔹 My future predictions for insect protein pricing This is a numbers-driven discussion aimed at people involved in: • Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farming • Insect protein production • Waste processing • Agritech • Industrial biotechnology • Climate technology • Circular economy systems • Alternative proteins If you're building an insect farm, investing in insect protein, working in waste management or trying to understand where the industry goes next, this video should give you a much clearer picture. 👇 Resources mentioned: 🎥 Previous videos on insect farming economics (See channel) 🎥 Documentary: What Happened to Insect Farming? -    • What Happened to Insect Farming?   🌐 Flybox website: www.flybox.bio 📈 Profit calculator, whitepapers, regulatory guides and training resources: https://flybox.bio/knowledge-centre 💼 LinkedIn:   / flyboxuk   If you enjoy deep-dive industry analysis, subscribe for more content on insect farming, BSF systems, waste valorisation and industrial biotech. #InsectFarming #BlackSoldierFly #BSF #InsectProtein #Agritech #ClimateTech #WasteManagement #CircularEconomy #AlternativeProtein #Biotechnology #Sustainability #Flybox #ProteinProduction #FoodWaste #Startup