PARIS — On Feb. 26, Innovafeed launched its new brand — Hilucia™ — to provide a complete range of high-quality, insect-based ingredients for use in animal nutrition, as well as plant nutrition, with minimal environmental impact. Hilucia offers a range of products made from Hermetically glowing (black soldier fly) larvae, also called BSFL.
According to Innovafeed, demand for insect-based ingredients has increased due to increasing consumer concern for the environment. In pet food, the United States currently uses more than 4 million tons of animal-derived ingredients to make dry and wet formulas, according to the Pet Food Institute. Through its BSFL ingredients, Innovafeed hopes to help the pet food industry reduce its reliance on animal-derived ingredients and promote sustainability.
Hilucia will offer four products for the pet food, animal feed, aquaculture and agriculture markets.
“Enhanced and expanded by two new products — Protein for Monogastrics and Oil for Aqua — the Hilucia range reaffirms Innovafeed’s anchoring and leadership in its four main markets: pets (Hilucia for pets animals), pets (Hilucia for monogastrics), aquaculture (Hilucia for aqua ), and agriculture (Hilucia for plants),” said Elizaveta Le Floch, chief business officer of Innovafeed.
These ingredients aim to meet the growing demand for high quality food products. For example, according to Innovafeed, the global demand for proteins is set to increase by 40% by 2030. Additionally, a life cycle analysis completed on the Hilucia ingredient range found that ingredients form at least 50% less carbon emissions compared to commonly used plant- and animal-derived proteins, oils and fertilizers, while also boasting a low impact on biodiversity, land use and water consumption.
Source: InnovafeedHilucia combines BSFL’s upcycling capabilities with Innovafeed’s innovative technology to help the company accelerate production and sales, which will more than double by 2023, according to Innovafeed.
BSFL transforms low-cost, plant-based raw materials into high-quality nutrients with extreme efficiency, according to Innovafeed, relying on 1.5 kg of dry feed to create 1 kg of body mass in 15 day. Using this capability, Innovafeed created an “industrial symbiosis” model, maximizing BSFL’s productivity by clustering and connecting insect rearing facilities to reduce overall environmental impact, transportation and production costs.
According to Innovafeed, the new brand represents a culmination of several years of development and is supported by four fundamentals: partnerships, sustainability, nutrition and quality. Innovafeed has established several strategic partnerships, with Cargill for aquaculture applications, ADM for pet food applications, and Hello Nature for agricultural applications. According to the company, these partnerships ensure its strong momentum in the French and international markets.
The new BSFL ingredient brand further advances Innovafeed’s dedication to sustainability. The company became accredited as a B Corp in 2022, released its first Impact Report in January 2024, and became a certified member of the Pet Sustainability Coalition just this month.
Arch Pet Food’s Super Future Formula is formulated with Innovafeed’s Hilucia ingredient for pets, reducing Arch’s environmental impact.
| Source: Arch Pet FoodThrough Hilucia, Innovafeed offers its customers a recognizable brand associated with quality and sustainability. The company provides the “Powered by Hilucia” logo for use on product packaging, which was recently incorporated into Arch Pet Food’s first complete-and-balanced dog food — Super Future Formula.
“The partnership with Innovafeed marks a significant milestone in our journey to redefine pet nutrition,” said Gabriel Huertas del Pino, co-founder and chief executive officer of Arch Pet Food. “We are excited to begin this partnership, and the Hilucia brand perfectly aligns with our commitment to excellence, sustainability and innovation in the pet food industry. We are proud to present the label and story directly to our customers packed into our new Smart Future Formula. Together, we’re setting new standards for what pet owners can expect, bringing a new era of quality, trust and transparency to the table.”
Read more about insect-based ingredients and pet food trends.
