Grubbly Farms, an Atlanta-based AgTech startup that develops fresh feed and snacks for chickens, has raised about $2.9 million from VC firm Overline Ventures. Other investors in the round include Oval Park Capital, Create-X and Techstars. The funding will primarily be used for growing the Grubbly Farms team, building a more robust supply chain and increasing the startup’s product line. The new funding brings Grubbly Farms total equity raised to $4.1 million.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Grubbly Farms team to drive more sustainable, environmentally-friendly food products for backyard chickens. We are big fans of the team and their mission, and we have been impressed by the loyal customer base that the company has built. We see tremendous opportunity for Grubbly Farms to continue to grow within its current market, as well as into adjacent pet market segments.”
Michael Cohn, Managing Partner, Overline Ventures
Founded in 2016, Grubbly Farms is on a mission to produce an insect-based protein and fat at the commercial level. Though they’re starting in the industry, they have plans to expand into actual chicken feed, dog treats, cat treats. The possibilities are endless considering protein is needed in almost every animal feed whether it’s for fish, livestock or dog or cat at home.
The larvae is what the real protein source comes from. It is a non-invasive species. It is found on every continent, it was native to North America and actually spread around the world during the mid-20th century. They don’t bite, sting or transmit diseases to humans. They actually don’t even have a mouth, so they have zero interest in food.
Chickens love foraging for insects and plants, so let’s feed them what they naturally love! With a healthy mix of grub and plant-based protein, essential amino-acids, vitamins and minerals, your feathered family will stay strong, healthy and happy.
Grubbly Farms
Grubbly Layer Feed, one of the main commercial product of Grubbly Farms, is the world’s first naturally-balanced feed made with farm-grown insect protein and plant-based ingredients, empowering you to feed your flock the way nature intended. It offers following benefits:
- Forage-Worthy Feed: Chickens forage for insects and plants, not fish. Grubbly Layer Feed fuels the flock with a healthy diet they naturally love.
- Healthier Eggs: The feed’s wholesome ingredients deliver bright, creamy and rich yolks, resulting in healthy, delicious eggs.
- Beautiful, Strong Feathers: The peck-sized pellets are packed with insect and plant-based protein, necessary for strong, healthy feathers.
In the long-term, Grubbly Farms wants its own insect production facility in Greater Atlanta, which will also help in recycling some of the city’s food waste. To date, it has helped recycle almost 4 million pounds of food waste, since every pound of harvested grubs equals 10 recycled pounds of food waste.
How it started?
In 2015, Georgia Tech graduates and cousins Sean Warner and Patrick Pittaluga ordered 700 larvae of black soldier flies from Amazon and started growing them after reading about the large cultivation of insects in Europe and Asia. Warner and Pittaluga feed pre-consumer food waste from local organizations to the flies and as they eat it, the flies convert it into quality fertilizer. The larvae the flies produce is then harvested, dehydrated and sold as backyard chicken treats.
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