Lotte Confectionery inks deal with Canada's Aspire Food for edible insect business collaboration

Lotte Confectionery has signed a partnership deal with Aspire Food Group to work together on the development of protein alternatives and edible insect products. This is also a strategic collaboration as the South Korean confectionery firm is aiming to expand in the edible insect market business in Asia.

Lotte Confectionery is known for its snack and frozen food products, and on Tuesday, Sept. 6, it publicly revealed its intention to broaden its portfolio by jumping into the emerging insect protein market by teaming up with Canada’s Aspire Food which manufactures a variety of food products made from crickets.

As per Yonhap News Agency, in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that Lotte Confectionery and Aspire Food signed last week, the two companies agreed to bolster their cooperation in insect protein food alternatives. Moreover, under the agreement, the Canadian firm will also be appointing Lotte Confectionery as the sole distributor of its products in Korea.

"Edible insects may only be used in pet food now, but their potential is immeasurable, as many consider insects to become the main source of protein for humans in the next decade," a Lotte official said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the global market observer, Grand View Research, the international market for insect-based protein has grown over the years and in 2020, it already amounted to $250 million. The figures are still expected to increase on an annual average of 27.4% from 2021 to 2028. This means that Lotte Confectionery and Aspire Food’s business is expected to flourish from this point on.

It was noted that the Canadian food manufacturer specializes in the production of dried crickets that are commonly used to make food items such as baking flour, granola, and pet food. The company has the capacity to churn out 12 million kilograms of crickets annually in its plant in Canada.

Aju Business Daily reported that prior to the mentioned MOU, Lotte Confectionery had already invested $731 million or KRW10 billion in Aspire last March. This will be utilized in the product development and the building of its insect protein production facility which will feature the latest technology, robotics, and automated equipment.