People have been eating crickets for as long as crickets and humans have coexisted. Shown above are fried crickets. Photo Shutterstock
After doubling their Kickstarter goal, Coast Protein’s cricket based foods are migrating down to the states.
The New Westminster based company raised $43,000 during a month of crowdfunding last year—a major reason why they are able to expand so soon.
“That money didn’t go as far as money goes, but it went really far in showing that we’re in the market to move this idea forward,” said CEO Dylan Jones.
Jones admits there’s some hesitation when customers first consider trying insect based products, but that sentiment is changing.
In B.C., Coast’s cricket based powders and bars can already be found in stores across the province and on their website. Amazon shoppers will be happy to know that the protein powders were just made available for Prime shipping, and the bars are expected to be up in June.
In Vancouver Coast Protein was careful with marketing and distribution locations, choosing to find independent retailers that they could work with to create an initial customer base before any large scale expansion. They plan on emulating that model as they expand into the U.S..
“You’ll notice immediately that our bar doesn’t have the same base taste, because all of our bars are real food,” Jones explained. “We’re like a craft brew, and we’re working really hard to make to consistent products at a small scale.”
