KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ento, a Malaysia-based alternative protein company today announced the launch of its equity crowdfunding campaign (ECF) via Fundnel, marking one of the world's first alternative protein companies to raise money via the ECF route. Ento is an early stage alternative protein company specializing in farming, food technology and distributing edible insects (crickets and larvae) for human consumption. Insect protein is not exactly new. As early as 2013, the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization published a comprehensive White Paper report supporting the nutritional and environmental benefits of insect-based protein. With increasing global investment interest in the agrifood and food technology sectors, Ento's ECF campaign now provides public and retail investors the opportunity to invest in this booming sector where previously early stage deals were only accessible to selected angel investors, venture capital funds and private equity firms.
Over the past year, Ento has attracted key talents and currently has a team of agriculturalists, food technologists, scientists and commercial operators. Ento is currently in its first revenue stage and commercializing its products by working with online and offline retailers and securing key distribution channels with its recent launch on Amazon USA. Founder & CEO Kevin Wu commented, "Over the past 2 years, we've seen a large shift in consumers' food habits and growing interest in healthy and sustainable food products and brands. Millennials and Gen Z are generally more open-minded to the idea of purchasing and consuming new food products, which is a core driver for the growth of the alternative protein industry. In terms of investment, there have been tremendous increase in investors' appetite for deals in the alternative protein sector. The appetite for investment is also supported by the recent successful IPO by Beyond Meat, which proves there is solid market demand for food technology and alternative protein companies. We are currently raising our seed round via ECF and investors can invest as little as US$1,250 for shares in a fast-growing food tech company. The long-term goal is to grow our company to IPO stage, marking the world's first edible insect protein company to launch an IPO. This can happen within the next 7-10 years given the booming demand for alternative protein and interest in agrifood sector." Ento chose to launch on Fundnel, a Singaporean-based and South East Asia's largest private investment technology platform that has in the past raised money for SpaceX, Grab, WeWork and more.
Ento initially caught public attention in mid 2019 when it launched a range of whole roasted cricket snacks, the first to market in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Subsequently Ento raised a Pre-Seed round led by Rapzo Capital, a Singapore-based private family office. From the previous fundraise, Ento has expanded its product range to include baked goods and is currently developing an Ento burger patty, which would largely be plant-based powered by Ento cricket powder to replicate the successes of Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Wu excitedly adds in, "The Ento burger patty will be higher in protein, more sustainable and all-natural compared to conventional burger patties." To date, Ento works with bakeries, food distributors and manufacturers as well as with B2B and B2C customers in US and Europe.
Wu adds, "Upon the completion of ECF round, we will be able to hire more key talents in areas such as product development, sales, distribution and marketing in order to expand our current distribution channels and also drive education amongst the mass consumers. We will use proceeds from the ECF round to transition our business into a sustainable food ingredient producer selling new products such as our Ento burger patty to food service companies." The new talents would further support the skills and qualifications of the already formidable team with experience traversing Harvard Business School, INSEAD, Sime Darby Plantation, Bayer AG, Frost & Sullivan, 500 Startups and more.
For more information regarding Ento's ECF campaign visit: https://fundnel.com/deal/323/crossing-new-frontiers-to-feed-the-next-billion-in-our-worlds-population
For information and interview requests, contact: kevin@ento.my
Learn more about Ento's Products: www.ento.my
Ento – Ento is an alternative protein company specializing in edible insects for human consumption. Through its business model and product innovation, it will commercialise insect protein to the mass market making familiar products tastier, more nutritious, cheaper and more accessible than ever before. With the upcoming launch of its burger patty, foodservice companies can get hold of one of the world's first Ento burger patty which is all-natural, more nutritious and more sustainable compared to the conventional burger patty. Ento is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia with offices, pilot facility and warehouse across Malaysia and Singapore. Ento is shaping the way future consumers perceive food, protein and sustainability.
Fundnel – Fundnel is Southeast Asia's largest private investment technology platform. At the core of its deal-making expertise lies a proprietary engine, underpinned by artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. The algorithms automatically screen each investment opportunity to assess business and funding viability. Deals that fulfil Fundnel's stringent requirements are thereafter syndicated to investors with corresponding mandates. Fundnel is headquartered in Singapore with a growing presence in 5 countries across Asia Pacific. Since inception, Fundnel has curated USD6 billion worth of deals for over 13,000 investors. In 2019, it secured USD120 million in essential funding for private companies and private equity and venture capital funds.
Rapzo Capital – Rapzo Capital is a family-funded investment company in Singapore. It offers seed and start-up funding to support ideas that will drive social impact. Rapzo Capital is about connecting with real people to bring innovation and creativity to real-life issues.
