TRICAPITAL Angels led a £1.7 million investment into the business in 2023 and has now followed up with a fresh £2.1 million cash injection alongside Scottish Enterprise. The investment will enable Beta Bugs to further accelerate its development into an international player in Black Soldier Fly genetics, as well as enable the company to scale up production of eggs and juvenile larvae to supply to insect farming operations.

Beta Bugs has already made great strides in selectively breeding superior black soldier flies, which are larger and faster growing, thereby improving the efficiency of converting waste into useful protein and oil.

With the additional investment, the genetics team will be expanded and the breeding program will move to the next level. The company is now building the capability to deliver its superior flies to black soldier fly producers and is already developing commercial relationships with the first large-scale producers in the UK.

“This funding allows us immediately to accelerate our growth on key fronts. We are investing significantly in our Breeding Programme to deliver further genetic gains with our HiPer-Fly® products,” said CEO and founder Thomas Farrugia. “Additionally, we are increasing our production capacity to a larger scale to meet rising customer demand for our key product formats – eggs, young larvae and juvenile larvae, across the UK and European market. Crucially, we are strengthening our key team with key hires. We have already recruited a specialist in up-scaling black soldier fly production and establishing strategic partnerships, and are now actively recruiting for expertise in finance, operations and genetics. This ensures that we continue to provide our customers with the critical, hands-on, expert advice that will help them optimize and grow their output on their scale-up journey.”

Moray Martin, CEO of TRICAPITAL Angels, said that “Beta Bugs is clearly on a strong growth trajectory, and we remain dedicated to strengthening our partnership with them to support their mission of delivering high-quality insect genetics and products. Their innovative breeding program has given them a distinct genetic advantage, as evidenced by their accelerating commercial progress. This investment round will pave the way to large-scale production, combining genetic innovation with increased outpu