Building a cricket farming and processing chain for export

In the trend of sustainable agricultural development and utilization of natural resources, Cricket One Company Limited has pioneered research and investment in the model of raising crickets in an industrial direction. The enterprise (DN) built a large-scale cricket farm system, linked with dozens of farming households in Loc Hung commune, Dong Nai province, gradually forming a stable and professional raw material area.

Cricket products processing line at Cricket One Company Limited in Loc Ninh commune, Dong Nai province. Photo: B.Nguyen

Right in this area, Cricket One also invested in an international standard processing factory, applying modern technology to produce protein powder and cricket-based products, supplying the domestic market and exporting to many countries around the world .

Behind this unique startup model is Mr. Dang Cao Nam, Director of Cricket One Company Limited. With his creative thinking and long-term vision, Mr. Nam has successfully raised large amounts of capital from international investors, creating the foundation for the construction of a modern cricket processing factory, contributing to bringing Vietnamese insect protein products to the global market.

High-tech application in industrial-scale cricket farming

Sharing his startup story, Mr. Dang Cao Nam said: “I chose to start a business raising and processing products from crickets - a food source rich in protein, fiber, antioxidants... This is a clean source of protein because crickets are only raised for food and water and do not use any antibiotics. In addition, raising crickets is very clean for the environment, a source of green protein because raising 1kg of crickets only requires about 1.5kg of food, 2 liters of water and almost no greenhouse gas emissions”.

Mr. Dang Cao Nam compared: To raise 1kg of meat, raising crickets is much more economical than raising other animals, especially in terms of environmental protection. Specifically, to raise 1kg of beef and 1kg of crickets, the cost of cricket feed is 10 times less; the raising time is 100 times less, the land area used is 100 times less, the amount of water is 2,000 times less. In particular, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from raising crickets compared to raising cows is 100 times less.

Mr. Nam and his colleagues are pioneers in investing in high-tech cricket farming on an industrial scale. Mr. Nam introduced: Cricket farms are built on a large scale, in which crickets are raised in large plastic tanks, designed in many floors to save farming space; the drinking water supply and harvesting system is completely automatic; IoT technology is applied to control and regulate the environment. This automatic drinking water supply system is also an exclusive invention of Cricket One Company Limited. To have a food source for crickets, he and his colleagues work closely with universities to research and process specialized food for crickets from agricultural by-products.

According to Mr. Nam, the solution of raising crickets in plastic trays is very flexible because it is easy to move, change and especially helps save farming area. This is an easy-to-replicate model. Mr. Nam said: A farm of about 1,200 m2, after one month of raising, can harvest 8 tons of crickets, earning about 120 million VND/batch, with a profit of about 30%. Before harvesting crickets, the farmer lets the crickets lay a batch of eggs and then uses this egg source to incubate a new batch of breeds. Farmers participating in the cricket farming chain to supply processing factories only need to invest in the farm, the enterprise will lend them boxes, provide food, transfer farming techniques, supervise the farming process and consume the products. To start a small farm, farmers only need an initial investment of about 100 million VND to participate.

Currently, the company has invested in 4 large cricket farms and cooperated with dozens of cricket farmers to build a source of raw materials to ensure quality for processing. With a scale of raising hundreds of tons of fresh crickets, Cricket One Company Limited is the company with the largest chain of raw cricket farms in Asia and the top 3 in the world.

Thanks to its unique model, Cricket One startup has participated in many programs and projects supported by international organizations, all of which have received attention, such as: Cricket One startup won an award and successfully raised capital in the final round of the Young Social Entrepreneurs Program (YSE) organized by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF). Cricket One startup also won first prize in the Mekong Region Agricultural Technology Challenge Program (MATCH 2018) sponsored by the Australian Government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Director of Cricket One Company Limited Dang Cao Nam

Exporting clean protein sources to the world

The company's cricket product processing factory was invested right in the cricket breeding area of ​​Loc Ninh commune. At first, this source of raw materials was mainly exported because it was difficult to consume in the domestic market. Thanks to the products achieving international certifications, they can compete with similar products from other countries. Currently, the company exports well to countries such as Europe, Japan, Singapore, etc.

Mr. Dang Cao Nam shared: Enterprises invest in processing because if they put whole crickets on the market, very few consumers will accept them. Therefore, enterprises focus on deep processing with the idea that if they increase the processing of protein sources from crickets, it will increase consumer acceptance. If there is processing technology, a product that is difficult to consume will become a specialty dish that attracts customers.

The company has built a closed chain from breeding, processing and trading. In particular, the company continuously invests in processing crickets into many nutritional food products to supply to the market such as: snacks, cricket juice (nutritional drink), cricket noodles... with a processing line that meets international standards. This is considered a "passport" for the company to be able to bring goods to large supermarket chains in the United States and Europe.

Mr. Nam commented: With crickets, farmers and processors do not throw away any part. Crickets are processed into pure cricket powder, de-oiled cricket powder, whole oil powder, etc. The legs, shells, and wings of crickets after processing are ground into animal feed, nutritional food, etc. Dried cricket manure is used as fertilizer to help plants grow very well.

In addition to export, the company's cricket-processed products are being supplied to the Big C system in Ho Chi Minh City, and are best-selling products in many modern retail stores. The company's products have been put on major sales systems and e-commerce platforms such as FoofMap.Asia, Lazada, Shopee, etc.

Visiting the cricket farming and processing model of Cricket One Company Limited in Loc Hung commune, Provincial Party Committee member, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hoang commented: This is a high-tech agricultural model that has formed a closed chain from farming to processing and consumption. The model brings high economic efficiency and can be replicated for farmers and cooperatives. The province will create all conditions for businesses to continue to expand investment and build brands.

Binh Nguyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202511/xay-dung-chuoi-nuoi-va-che-bien-de-xuat-khau-54f2162/