Welcome Enthos: Unlocking Resource-Efficient Protein Solutions

What if a solution to the urgent challenges of food waste and protein insecurity could be found in a fly? Across the globe, over $1 trillion of food is thrown away annually while producers scramble to find reliable, sustainable sources of animal feed. At this critical inflection point, we believe there’s an opportunity to unlock circular, biology-driven solutions that maximize resource efficiency and recover value from overlooked inputs.

That’s why we were excited to back Enthos, a company that is building large-scale insect protein infrastructure to convert food waste into high-quality feed ingredients and agricultural inputs using Black Soldier Fly larvae.

Turning Constraints into Opportunities

With food insecurity impacting over 340 million people globally and food waste contributing up to 10% of annual greenhouse gas emissions, new models are needed to feed a growing global population sustainably. 

However, today’s conventional animal feed ingredients, such as fishmeal and soy, are becoming increasingly untenable. Wild fisheries are at risk of collapse from overfishing, while land-based protein sources are tied to deforestation, water depletion, and volatile commodity markets.

Aquaculture, which is responsible for over 70% of global fishmeal and fish oil use, is expanding rapidly to meet global protein demand, yet its future is constrained by finite marine resources. Recent disruptions, such as weather events like El Niño and related impacts on Peru’s anchovy season, have led to dramatic price spikes in fish oil, underscoring the fragility of current supply chains.

We believe organic waste is a major untapped source of lost nutrients. It’s time to close the loop and develop a new generation of feed solutions that align with both ecological and economic imperatives.

A New Era for Feed

Insect-derived feed presents a transformative opportunity to recapture nutrients from food waste and convert them into high-value inputs. Diverting just 1% of global food waste into insect production could yield 332,000 metric tons of protein and one million metric tons of non-chemical fertilizer annually — outcomes that would alleviate feed shortages and enhance food system stability. 

Compared to traditional livestock, insect farming requires far less land, water, and feed and emits just 0.017 kg CO₂-equivalent per kilogram of protein, versus 57 – 500 kg for conventional protein sources.

Innovating at the Intersection of Waste and Food Security

Enthos’ biology-based model harnesses the remarkable efficiency of Black Soldier Fly larvae, which can grow more than 200 times their original size in just 15 days. The result is a sustainable source of nutrient-rich ingredients with broad applications across agriculture and aquaculture, including:

• Insect Meal: A nutrient-rich, scalable, and sustainable replacement for fishmeal and soymeal in aquaculture and livestock diets.
• Insect Oil: A versatile input for animal nutrition and other applications.
• Organic Fertilizer: A valuable byproduct that can be used to enhance soil health in agricultural systems.

The company’s flagship facility, Enthos 1, located in Colombia, will be one of Latin America’s largest insect protein production hubs. It will generate food-grade inputs for the animal and aquaculture feed industries and serve as a replicable blueprint for future sites.

By upcycling organic waste into premium animal feed ingredients, Enthos delivers immediate benefits for producers, ecosystems, and communities:

• Stabilized feed costs for aquaculture and livestock producers by reducing reliance on volatile fishmeal and soy markets.
• Lower environmental footprint, conserving land and water while mitigating methane emissions from food waste.
• Improved food supply chain resilience by providing localized, sustainable alternatives to globalized protein supply chains.
• Economic development, particularly in regions where waste volumes are high and job creation is urgently needed.

Why We Invested

Scaling Solutions at the Seams of Oceans and Food Systems

Enthos represents a rare opportunity to drive systems change across multiple industries: reimagining waste management, strengthening food supply resilience, and unlocking new economic value streams. Their fit-for-purpose model aligns with our thesis of driving resource efficiency, enabling climate mitigation, and scaling commercially viable solutions to urgent global challenges.

In partnership with Ocean 14 Capital Fund I, our investment will support Enthos in expanding its flagship facility, optimizing operations, building strategic relationships, and accelerating adoption across markets.

We are thrilled to welcome Enthos to the S2G portfolio and are proud to support its mission to build a more resilient food supply chains. We believe their work represents the kind of commercially viable innovation that will drive the next generation of economic value creation.

Learn more about Enthos’ work at its website or follow the company on LinkedIn.