KNOWN EFFECTS takes some time out to chat to Martina (bottom right pic) about Grilo Protein and their business venture.
We whipped up an awesome smoothie, jared it and took some samples on an adventure through Lennox Head to some of our smoothie loving mates.
CRICKETS ?? with a strange look on everyones faces AFTER the fact that they have just told us how GOOD the smoothie was. This was the response of a handful of our health lovers. After we sat down and chatted to them about Grilo Protein and all the benefits these bugs have to our environment and bodies we had converted our foodies to add Grilo Protein into their daily life.
‘When I am finished with the powders I have, Ill be purchasing this for sure” – Ash
Join us as we ask Martina about business. xo
Tell us what the reaction is when you are out on the streets promoting Grilo Protein?
Entomophagy (eating bugs) it’s a very new concept in the western countries although 80% of the world’s nations already eat insects.
People get really excited and interested about our company and products. And everyone asks us “why eat crickets”.
Cricket powder is a food trend in 2018 so many people have already heard it’s a healthy protein alternative to meat packed with 69% protein, vitamin B12, all essential amino acids and more. Most of them also know that edible insects are one of the most sustainable and future-friendly protein sources on Earth.
People’s reactions have been changing in a positive way since we joined the bug-eating revolution about 2 years ago.
Did you know that crickets have 3 times more protein than beef, 2.2 times more iron than spinach and 10 times more vitamin B12 than salmon? Check out another 10 reasons why you should give crickets a go here!
Where did this journey start, how did you get into creating cricket powders and energy bars?
Grilo Protein is a Byron Bay based small company born and bred out of a desire to bring better health, sustainable and future conscious foods. And that’s the reason we chose the most sustainable protein on Earth: crickets. Yes, crickets!
Bug’s ecological footprint is far smaller than any other traditional protein source such as cattle, pork, chicken and soy. Crickets have up to 69% protein, complete amino acid profile, vitamin B12, bioavailable iron, prebiotic fibre and more. Our brand and products reflect all that we stand for and we are passionate about health and our Planet.
After watching many documentaries and reading a lot about sustainability, the environment and the future of our Planet, we started to get worried about the consequences of our footprint for the future generations. We did a lot of research and found out that bugs were the closest thing to a perfect protein source this planet has ever seen. And they have been called the most sustainable protein on Earth.
By the time, there was no insect-based protein powder in Australia so we bought some from America. We added it to our daily meals straight away and I can tell my energy levels were much higher than before. We got in love with edible bugs!
After having the cricket powder (or cricket flour) for a few months and a lot of market research we decided to start our own bug-eating project: Grilo!
Today there are so many companies making delicious insect-based foods around the world. Check out our favourite products made with insect protein here!
What were you all doing prior to Grilo Protein?
We were all working in hospitality in Byron Bay.
What are the plans for 2018?
Launch our third cricket energy bar and convince more and more Australians to start eating crickets.
What has been your biggest challenge in creating Grilo Protein?
I think the biggest challenge was to convince people that there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating bugs other than people’s perception.
I do believe the perception of eating insects is changing in a positive way over the past years. When we first started our business 2 years ago people thought we were a bit crazy. There are a lot of information, articles and also documentaries about insects as food out there and people are getting to learn more about it. There are also more companies like us trying to make insects taste delicious and convince westerns to add it to their diets. And it’s just the beginning!
If you could give one piece of advice to anyone starting a business what would it be?
Never give up. It’s not easy to start a business and you will face hard times, but at the end all your hard work is worth it when you realise how much you can do through your business to impact people’s lives and contribute to a more sustainable Planet and the future generations.
What do you do in your down time?
I love to go for a walk at the beach or up to the Lighthouse. I also enjoy trying new recipes using our organic cricket powder and go for a coffee with friends.
Check out our cricket powder recipes here!
If you could escape right now to one place with only 5 items, one song and one meal what would it be?
I would take a bottle of water, hiking/running shoes, sunscreen, Cricket energy bars and my camera. I think I’m all set to go exploring! 😉
My meal would be very simple and delicious: avocado and tahini on organic cricket powder bread topped with sunflower sprouts, seeds and olive oil. And a cricket powder cacao smoothie as dessert, of course. 🙂
A song… there are so many I would like to take with me. I think I would take “Trem Bala” from Ana Vitela. It’s a Brazilian song that I really like about gratitude and simple things in life that make us happy everyday.
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Thanks guys for having us on board. We love being part of KE community! 🙂