London, Ont.-based cricket protein manufacturer Aspire Food Group has been placed in the hands of a receiver
A receivership order granted in the Toronto Court of Superior Justice has placed Aspire in the hands of receiver FTI Consulting Canada.
The decision was based on a filing from Farm Credit Canada, which reports being owed $41.5 million.
Crickets
Crickets are processed to be used as food protein. (File)
According to information provided by the company, Aspire was formed by five McGill University students in 2013.
The company was launched after the team won the 2013 US$1 million Hult Prize, an annual social entrepreneurship competition that challenges students to build businesses that contribute to solving a pressing social issue.
The company's goal was to find solutions to global food scarcity using scalable cricket production, primarily geared to the pet food market.
Along with the London production facility, based at 2450 Innovation Drive, Aspire also has a research and development facility in Austin, Texas.
Company leadership, based on research from the Texas unit, also claimed that the greenhouse gas emissions from cricket protein production were more than 40 per cent lower than those generated in farmed salmon and organic chicken and turkey production.
The London operation was opened in 2022, with an $8.5M dollars in funding from the Federal government's AgriInnovate Program.
The 150,000 sq ft facility was designed to supply frozen whole crickets that customers can further process.
In November of 2024, it was reported that staffing had been reduced from 150 employees to 50, with a plan to re-hire in July.
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