Ecuadorian Francisca Alejandra
Castellanos, a graduate in International Relations and Social Sciences from the
Tecnológico de Monterrey, is passionate about mountaineering and needed a
source of protein without whey, as she is lactose intolerant and hikes at
high altitudes. While working with Mexican indigenous communities, she
discovered the properties of crickets. With the combination of these factors, she found an alternative to traditional protein bars with low environmental
impact but is rich in nutrients.
Her answer was the start-up Crick
Superfoods, which produces food with cricket protein. This insect has high
protein content and provides nine amino acids, more calcium than milk, and more
vitamin B12 than salmon, according to its creator. "We are the first
Ecuadorian company to produce and market products with cricket protein. It was
born from the difficulty of finding food products with protein that are environmentally and health friendly," she explains. For this nutritional
and environmental breakthrough, Castellanos has been chosen by MIT Technology
Review in Spanish as one of the winners of Innovators under 35 Latin America
2023.
The company sells two types of
nachos made with cricket flour as a snack, one product with sea salt and the
other with chili. Her start-up also markets a protein topping for salads and
other types of recipes. Castellanos points out that crickets emit 80 times less
carbon dioxide than cows for an equivalent amount of feed, and controlled
environment cricket farms use 10 times less soil. This alternative also uses
much less water per kilo than cattle farming. They are suitable for coeliacs, as
they are gluten-free. The insects are fed on vegetables and cereals for eight
weeks and their food quality is assured, says the innovator. To maximize its
social impact, Castellanos has partnered with the Food Bank of Quito to improve
the nutrition of the most vulnerable people through its cricket flour nachos.
Finally, Castellanos' initiative is
researching new products such as energy bars for athletes and women during
menstruation. After expanding in the Ecuadorian market, where there is no
culture of insect consumption, the young innovator seeks to market her products
in Mexico, the United States and the Netherlands. Crick Superfoods complies
with two of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations:
zero hunger and responsible production and consumption.
