Singapore-based Entobel has brought online what it calls Asia's largest insect-protein plant in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in southern Vietnam, producing up to 10,000 tonnes a year of feed ingredients derived from the black soldier fly. Co-founders Alexandre de Caters and Gaëtan Crielaard moved to Vietnam in 2013 and bet on commercializing insect farming that takes advantage of the tropical climate. That decision bore fruit 10 years later as a US$33 million Series B raise.
The Vung Tau plant: the full picture of a 50-tier vertical farming system
The Vung Tau plant, which began operating in September 2023, was completed in a construction period of just 12 months. The production line, combining 50-tier vertical farming racks, robotics, a sensor network, and data analytics, achieves a level the company calls the world's best capital-expenditure efficiency. About 150 employees work there, raising black soldier fly larvae on agricultural waste (such as fruit-processing residues).
Together with the first plant in Dong Nai province (annual output 1,000 tonnes), operating since 2019, total production capacity within Vietnam is 11,000 tonnes a year. As of the end of 2024, it ships steadily at a pace of 300-400 tonnes a month, and ramp-up toward full operation is under way.
Why Vietnam: the trinity of tropical climate, agricultural waste, and aquaculture
Co-CEO de Caters puts the reason for choosing Vietnam plainly: the tropical climate is the ideal environment for the black soldier fly. The black soldier fly's growth cycle shortens to its minimum in a warm climate, and farming costs fall sharply.
In addition, Vietnam is one of the world's leading farmers of shrimp and pangasius (catfish), and the aquaculture industry that becomes insect protein's largest customer is right in front. Conventionally, fishmeal made from wild fish has been used in aquaculture feed, but as the depletion of marine resources grows serious, demand for insect protein as a sustainable alternative ingredient is surging.
The trajectory of investment and production
| Year | Event | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Entry into Vietnam (founding) | ― |
| 2019 | Dong Nai first plant online | Annual output 1,000 tonnes |
| 2022 | Series B raise | US$33 million (about ¥5.1 billion) |
| September 2023 | Vung Tau plant begins operating | Annual output 10,000 tonnes |
| End of 2024 | Monthly output pace stabilizes | 300-400 tonnes a month |
| 2026 | Total Vietnam capacity | 11,000 tonnes a year |
Converted at US$1 = ¥155 and 1 Vietnamese dong = ¥0.006
A circular ecosystem with HEINEKEN and Vinh Hoan
Entobel did not grow alone. With HEINEKEN Vietnam, it has built a circular ecosystem that uses brewing by-products as insect feed. The spent grain and yeast residue produced in beer brewing become high-quality feed for the black soldier fly.
It has also signed a contract with Vietnam's largest seafood processor, Vinh Hoan, to supply insect protein long-term for pangasius farming. Vinh Hoan is advancing a shift to sustainable aquaculture, and Entobel's insect meal is positioned at the core of that supply chain. Adding value to pangasius by-products Together with this, the structural transformation of Vietnam's seafood industry is accelerating.
Impact on Japan's feed and aquaculture industries
For Japan's aquaculture industry, Entobel's move is a signal that cannot be ignored. In Japan too, fishmeal prices keep surging, and securing alternative protein sources has become an urgent task. Importing insect protein from Vietnam could be an option for balancing the stabilization of feed cost with sustainability.
For Japanese food companies too, branding farmed fish that use insect protein becomes a differentiator. The story of sustainable fish raised on insect feed already trades at a premium price in the European market.
Ripple effects on the insect-protein industry
Globally, the Netherlands' Protix and France's InnovaFeed are known as front-running players. But Entobel's strength lies in cost competitiveness with the tropical climate of Southeast Asia on its side. For the European players in temperate regions, heating costs push up production cost, whereas in Vietnam the black soldier fly's optimal temperature band (25-35°C) can be maintained naturally year-round.
Entobel is also planning to build new plants in Indonesia and Malaysia, drawing a strategy to build an insect-protein supply chain across all of Southeast Asia. Whether this industry model born in Vietnam, the low-emission rice of the Mekong Delta alongside this, becomes a new pillar of sustainable agriculture in Asia is drawing attention.
Practical information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Company name | Entobel (headquarters: Singapore) |
| Co-CEOs | Alexandre de Caters、Gaëtan Crielaard |
| Vietnam plants | Ba Ria-Vung Tau province (10,000 tonnes/year), Dong Nai province (1,000 tonnes/year) |
| Product | Insect protein meal, insect oil, frass (organic fertilizer material) |
| Main investors | Mekong Capital, Dragon Capital, IFC (International Finance Corporation) |
| Main partners | Vinh Hoan (seafood processing), HEINEKEN Vietnam (circular resources) |
| Use | Shrimp and fish aquaculture feed, livestock feed, plant nutrition |
| Raw materials | Agricultural waste, fruit-processing residues, brewing by-products |
Summary
Thirteen years since two European entrepreneurs focused on Vietnam's tropical climate. Entobel has grown the niche of insect protein into an industry of Asia's largest scale. An annual production capacity of 11,000 tonnes, a circular ecosystem with HEINEKEN, and stable supply to Vinh Hoan: these show that Vietnam is transforming from a mere agricultural exporter into a platform nation for agricultural technology. For Japan's aquaculture industry, seeking to break free of fishmeal dependence, Vietnamese insect protein is an option worth considering.
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Source: VnExpress (May 2026)、PR Newswire
