Lotte Central Research Institute Signs Memorandum of Understanding for Mutual Cooperation with French Insect Protein Startup 'Ynsect'

Lotte Central Research Institute signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for joint research and mutual cooperation to secure product development technology using insect protein with French food startup Ynsect on the 17th, and took a commemorative photo. From the left in the photo are Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, Guillaume Daoulas, Business Development Director of Ynsect, Lee Kyung-hwon, Director of Lotte Central Research Institute, and C?dric O., French Secretary of State for Digital Economy. Photo by XXX

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Lotte Central Research Institute announced on the 19th that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for mutual cooperation in joint research to secure product development technology using insect protein with the French insect protein startup 'Ynsect'.

Ynsect is the world's first to commercialize a large-scale automated breeding smart factory for edible insects of the mealworm species in alternative protein research. It is a unicorn startup in the edible insect industry currently building large-scale breeding smart factories to supply protein sources for salmon feed in Europe, food protein in the United States, and livestock feed protein sources.

Insects mainly used for food are rich in nutrients such as protein and minerals, attracting attention as an excellent nutritional source. In particular, Lotte Central Research Institute cited as the background of this LOI that edible insects cause less environmental pollution during the breeding process compared to traditional protein sources like cattle and pigs, and with the increasing interest in eco-friendly businesses due to the climate crisis, they are rapidly emerging as sustainable food sources.

Through the signing of the LOI with Ynsect, Lotte Central Research Institute plans to mutually share technology and information on edible insects and conduct various joint research for product development using insect protein.

Meanwhile, the LOI between the two companies was signed at the 'Korea-France Startup Day' event held on the 17th in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The Korea-France Startup Day event, organized by the Korea Angel Investment Association, was held to facilitate information and technology exchange between startups from Korea and France.

Lee Kyung-hwon, head of Lotte Central Research Institute, stated, “Through cooperation with global food tech startups possessing innovative technology, Lotte will continue related research to become a leader in the eco-friendly alternative food market, including alternative proteins.”

Meanwhile, Lotte Central Research Institute has been continuously conducting research and development on alternative foods for sustainable food considering health and the environment, such as developing and launching the plant-based alternative meat brand ‘Zero Meat,’ which was the first vegan food commercialized with in-house manufacturing technology in the domestic food market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.