doing business as
employer : Beta Hatch founded : 2015 location : Cashmere and Seattle websites : www . betahatch . com , www . usmealworms . com
Beta Hatch
Founded in Seattle by Ph . D . entomologist Virginia Emery , Beta Hatch recently opened its first major production facility in a Cashmere warehouse , co-located with a major online data center . The company ’ s innovative process uses excess heat from the nearby network equipment to grow mealworms , creating a sustainable protein source for animal feed at industrial scale .
Brian Mittge
the challenge : With 30 % of American food crops going to feed animals later eaten for meat , self-described “ insect entrepreneur ” Virginia Emery founded Beta Hatch to direct those crops to humans by feeding the animals with something more sustainable : mealworms . The larval form of the darkling beetle is high in protein , and the waste they produce ( called frass ) is valuable as a fertilizer .
the solution : Emery founded Beta Hatch to grow mealworms indoors in a closed , regenerative system to produce a sustainable feed ingredient alternative to fishmeal and other less sustainable forms of protein and fat . The mealworms are harvested at the larval stage , dried , then turned into flour and oil to produce a nutrient-dense animal feed ingredient that can be used as a direct replacement for fishmeal in aquafeed production , or to replace traditional proteins like chicken and beef in pet food and treats . The animal feed market represents a $ 400 billion dollar opportunity for innovation . Work for FDA approval of this ingredient is still underway . Today , Beta Hatch ’ s whole dried mealworms can be purchased under the Chubby Mealworms brand at www . usmealworms . com .
co-located for success : Beta Hatch ’ s new production facility in Cashmere ( inside a former juice processing plant ) takes advantage of the region ’ s thriving agricultural heritage . Through proprietary HVAC innovations , state-of-the-art grow rooms utilize waste heat from a neighboring data center to provide heat and humidity for the insects in a sustainable and cost-efficient manner . Mealworms eat food production byproducts , many of them from the Wenatchee Valley and some from as close as a mile way . As a year-round business , they envision helping diversify the employment base in an area with a lot of seasonal work based around fruit crops .
growth : They ’ re producing finished products at the Cashmere facility now , but eventually that plant will only be a hatchery producing mealworm eggs that will support a network of geographically distributed mealworm ranches . These ranches will also be co-located with key aspects of the supply chain such as waste-energy sources , animal feed producers , feed formulators and growers . Their plan localizes food production , creates a year-round supply of feed indoors , and shortens supply chains — an appealing benefit after the disruption of Covid .
“ By industrializing insect agriculture within a regenerative food system , we ’ re farming for the future , which is really exciting .”
— Virginia Emery , Ph . D ., founder and CEO , Beta Hatch