Thai Union’s Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) Fund has diversified its portfolio by investing in Orgafeed, an insect-based pet treats start-up in Thailand.
Thai Union’s CVC fund invests in companies aligned with its strategic priorities – in particular, start-ups operating in alternative proteins, functional nutrition, biotechnology, and other new technologies along the food value-chain.
Orgafeed uses black soldier fly larvae to produce its sustainable pet food and pet treats. The company was among the first start-ups receiving funding from SPACE-F, a Thai global food-tech startup incubator and accelerator. The initiative was co-founded by Thai Union in 2019.
The Orgafeed funding will facilitate the growth of Thai Union’s pet-care branch and fits into its strategy to apply investment into innovation to boost the nutrition of its products, the company said in a press release.
The addition of Orgafeed’s brand, Laika, will help enrich Thai Union’s pet product portfolio, which already includes Marvo, Bellota, Paramount, and Calico Bay, and other private labels under customer brands. Thai Union said in September its i-Tail Corporation Public Company Limited (ITC), formerly Songkla Canning Public Company Limited (SCC), would run the group’s pet-related operations and on 1 June, 2021, Thai Union announced the formation of a new company in Japan focusing on the pet food business.
“At Thai Union, innovation and sustainability are two important pillars of our business. The pet industry is experiencing strong humanization and premiumization trends, which has led to customers looking for healthier and more-sustainable products, thus driving our portfolio towards sustainable pet products, such as insect protein, where the environmental impact (emissions, land, and water usage) is significantly lower than other kinds of farmed protein,” Thai Union i-Tail CEO Roy Chan said. “Orgafeed will help us better serve our customers, especially in the sustainable pet-food segment. We’re very pleased to be participating in this round of funding and are looking forward to exploring collaboration opportunities with them.”
Thai Union’s sales of pet-care and value-added products rose 12.5 percent year-on-year to THB 5.7 billion (USD 172 million, EUR 148.5 million) in the second quarter of 2021, due mainly to strong demand and the launch of new products, it said.
