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In our first podcast episode, we have Michiel Van Meervenne, founder of KRIKET, as our guest. KRIKET delivers healthy snacks based on crickets and was born out of frustration with our current food system.
We were able to start with great news! Colruyt Group is now investing in the Belgian start-up. Together, they are taking on the mission to make insects a "mainstream" product accessible to everyone. Each will use their own strengths & expertise to further market and develop the cricket products, Michiel explains.
The Kriket Story
Kriket has now been around for 3 years and was founded by Michiel and his sister. It all started in 2017 with a crowdfunding campaign driven by frustration and the search for alternative proteins. Proteins with a low impact on nature, the planet, and humans, yet with high nutritional value.
The demand for these alternative proteins in terms of sustainability was high. For that reason, Kriket focuses fully on crickets. Michiel tells us that crickets have very high nutritional value and high bioavailability, meaning they are efficiently absorbed by the body. This combined with the low environmental impact of plant-based proteins.
If we can tell this story about health and sustainability, we also succeed in convincing people to try them. After all, we also eat other unusual things like shrimp, mussels, and prawns, to name a few. Just try it is the message 🙂
Besides crickets, Kriket also works with other high-quality ingredients. They fully embrace the clean label principle and therefore do not use E-numbers, colorings, preservatives, etc. The bars are made from nuts, grains, and seeds and are supplemented with cricket flour.
Currently, there are 3 flavors available:
1. Basic version: hazelnuts, oat flakes, buckwheat, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, flaxseed, cricket flour
2. Cocoa Chirp: the basic version supplemented with pistachios, chocolate & chia seeds
3. Protein Boost: the basic version supplemented with pecans, dates, and a minimal amount of sea salt
This way, Kriket offers 3 snacks, each rich in fiber and protein. This combination provides a feeling of fullness and reduces hunger. Ideal as a healthy snack with which both Kriket and JustBite want to offer an alternative to unhealthy and classic cookies.
Packaging & Sustainability
"We aim for transparency in every aspect and strive for a sustainable product, including packaging." In our research, we looked at bio-based packagings that are biodegradable. The big problem with such packaging is that the shelf life is halved from 12 to 6 months.
So we chose, on the one hand, the longer shelf life to reduce food waste.
Kriket is a young brand that has had the chance to get into many stores. We actually got that chance partly because the bars have a 12-month shelf life. A strategic consideration that we definitely took into account in our decision.
Furthermore, regarding recycling (unfortunately), we are heavily dependent on the government, Michiel explains. The reality today is simply that too little is recycled. Even if we had chosen biodegradable films—which require a lot of energy to produce—they ultimately end up in residual waste. As a result, they are incinerated at the end of their cycle and not reused.
Taking the above considerations into account, we chose classic plastic films. Thin, pure films so that they can be 100% recycled. The best choice when looking at sustainability and impact at this moment and in our story.
What does the future look like for Kriket?
Together with Colruyt Group, they are thinking further about new products. The first to come are granolas, also 100% organic. A launch planned for the end of this year.
Michiel dreams of making Kriket as normal as shrimp in the long term. He also spoke about the alarming obesity figures—even among children—that he wants to reverse by promoting a healthy lifestyle.