Nas, one of the greatest rappers of all time, has invested in a company that makes protein bars out of crickets.
Exo is a Brooklyn-based startup that is trying to change the way we think about eating bugs. The company just closed a $4 million round of Series A funding led by Accel Foods — including Nas — bringing its total funding to $5.6 million.
Exo cofounders Greg Sewitz and Gabi Lewis started experimenting with cricket-based food when they were seniors at Brown University, after reading a United Nations report that said eating insects could help combat world hunger.
They currently have the highest sales in the insect snack space, which admittedly is not particularly crowded.
Exo's pitch is that "cricket flour"— basically ground-up crickets — is much better for the environment that other animal sources. Cows, for example, produce about 100 times the amount of greenhouse gas for the same amount of protein, according to Exo.
A few months back, I tried a sampler pack of their protein bars, which each contain approximately 40 crickets. Here's what it was like:
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We got an Exo sampler pack, which costs $13.
It has 4 flavors of bars...
...Peanut Butter and Jelly, Blueberry Vanilla, Cocoa Nut, and Apple Cinnamon.
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