Exo bars at Willy's Local Foods in Providence. (Joanna Detz/ecoRI News) |
Exo, which is headquartered in Brooklyn, was founded in 2013 by
two recent Brown University graduates, Greg Sewitz and Gabi Lewis. The two
co-CEOs are hoping their line of products will normalize eating insects, which,
in other parts of the world, are a common low-impact source of protein. In
fact, insects contain more protein per 100 grams than dried beef, sirloin steak
or chicken breast.
Insects require little water and minimal acreage. They emit 10
times less methane than livestock and produce 300 times less nitrous oxide —
also a global-warming gas.
The challenge is getting Westerners to eat them. That’s where
Exo bars come in.
“Getting people over the 'ick' factor is the biggest hurdle,”
said Kate Lyons, a former Providence resident who heads up Exo’s operations and
finance. “But, once people see that this looks like a protein bar, they get
over it. We intend for our bars to serve as an introductory vehicle for eating
insects by combining cricket flour with more familiar ingredients like nut
butters and fruits."
Lyons believes Exo bars will normalize insect eating the same
way California rolls brought sushi into the mainstream for Americans.
Exo prides itself on being paleo-friendly and on its minimally
processed, pronounceable ingredients. The crickets that go into the bars are
raised on U.S. and Canadian farms, where they are fed an organic, non-GMO diet.
While the company's mission may appeal to tree-hugging types, Exo markets its
bars to the nutrition-obsessed paleo-diet crowd.
Currently, Exo’s distribution is focused in the New York City
area, but outside of New York, consumers can find Exo bars online or at Willy’s Local Foods in Providence. Will Sherry, the
store’s owner, said sales of Exo bars, which have a primo spot right next to
the register, have been brisk, and, in fact, they’ve been outselling Clif Bars.
He also noted that he’s been seeing quite a few repeat purchases of the Exo
bars.
An ecoRI News staffer recently ate her first Peanut Butter and
Jelly Exo bar. It was soft and chewy with some crunchiness — probably the
puffed brown rice, not cricket legs. Oaty and nutty with some sweet undertones,
it tasted a lot like many of the other protein bars on the market.
The staffer's 71-year-old father, however, had a much harder
time getting over the “ick factor,” and only begrudgingly tried a bite after
much prodding.
“There’s a lot of education that goes into the selling our
products," Lyons said. "It would be great if one day people were more
comfortable with eating insects, but we’re a long way from that."
But with the younger generation growing up exposed to an ever-increasing array of alternate-protein products such as soy milk and seitan burgers, tiny insects just could be the next big culinary trend.
But with the younger generation growing up exposed to an ever-increasing array of alternate-protein products such as soy milk and seitan burgers, tiny insects just could be the next big culinary trend.