Thomas Constant
The eco-friendly, mealworm-growing pods that convert waste into pet food
Project
The Bug Factory
URL
Location
South East (England)
Theme
Agrifood
The eco-friendly, mealworm-growing pods that convert waste into pet food
Thomas Constant had the idea for The Bug Factory (also known as BeoBia, “food for life” in Irish Gaelic) while studying at university. The Bug Factory empowers people with exotic pets and small domestic animals that consume insects to create their own affordable and sustainable pet food.
With the support of the Young Innovators Award, Thomas has designed, prototyped and tested mealworm-growing pods for people’s homes, manufactured in the UK from recycled fridge plastic.The pods harness insect power to recycle users’ food waste and convert it into pet food and plant fertiliser.
After securing additional investment and expanding his team, Thomas started selling the insect pods in the UK, EU and USA in late 2022. Winning the Next Steps Award will allow him to scale up insect production, with the goal of growing into large-scale livestock feed production.
He credits the Young Innovators programme’s mentoring support with playing a “vital role” in his growth, and adds that the prestige of the Award has helped him to stand out to investors.
“Networking is a game-changer for me as a young entrepreneur, and I’ve experienced its incredible benefits first-hand through the Young Innovators programme. I’ve gained valuable insights, received mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs and even found potential investors.”
