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Nas
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
2016-03-07
Nas, one of the greatest rappers of all time, has invested in a company that makes protein bars out of crickets.
Exo is a Brooklyn-based startup that is trying to change the way we think about eating bugs. The company just closed a $4 million round of Series A funding led by Accel Foods — including Nas — bringing its total funding to $5.6 million.
Exo cofounders Greg Sewitz and Gabi Lewis started experimenting with cricket-based food when they were seniors at Brown University, after reading a United Nations report that said eating insects could help combat world hunger.
They currently have the highest sales in the insect snack space, which admittedly is not particularly crowded.
Exo's pitch is that "cricket flour" — basically ground-up crickets — is much better for the environment that other animal sources. Cows, for example, produce about 100 times the amount of greenhouse gas for the same amount of protein, according to Exo.
A few months back, I tried a sampler pack of their protein bars, which each contain approximately 40 crickets. Here's what it was like:
We got an Exo sampler pack, which costs $13.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
It has 4 flavors of bars...
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
...Peanut Butter and Jelly, Blueberry Vanilla, Cocoa Nut, and Apple Cinnamon.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
Here are the ingredients for Peanut Butter and Jelly.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
That's the first one I decided to try.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
It felt sticky on first touch.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
And I was not a fan of the overall look.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
It reminded me a bit too much of an insect.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
I took my first bite, which was not enjoyable.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
This flavor tasted a bit too much like soy sauce, and smelled like it too. Maybe they were trying to counterbalance the peanut butter taste, but it ended up in a weird spot between sweet and savory.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
I was not going to eat the rest of the bar.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
But I decided to give Blueberry Vanilla a shot. And it already looked a lot better.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
I loved this flavor. It had a pleasant fruity taste, and the vanilla wasn't too overpowering. It's actually one of the best protein bars I've ever had.
Business Insider/Steven Tweedie
At around $3 per bar, they are a bit expensive, but so are most protein bars. The difference between the two bars makes me think the crickets weren't what tasted bad, that the formula was just off — at least for my taste buds. I would definitely have the blueberry vanilla one again.
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Nathan is the media and advertising editor for Business Insider and was previously the entertainment editor, as well as an editor and reporter for the tech section.He runs BI's media business team, which primarily covers the creator economy and the business of social media, the evolution of streaming, and the future of advertising.He edits the CMO Insider newsletter, which features exclusive reporting on marketing and the creator space.He has overseen several award-winning projects at BI.He coedited Jason Guerrasio's feature on the rise and fall of MoviePass, which won a New York Press Club Award and a National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award from the Los Angeles Press Club.BI's reporting on MoviePass served as the basis for the HBO documentary "MoviePass MovieCrash." Nathan is interviewed in the documentary and was a consultant during production.He's worked on other stories that have won or been finalists for NAEJ Awards from the LA Press Club.They include:
He mainly edits the work of reporters Lucia Moses, Lara O'Reilly, Dan Whateley, Sydney Bradley, and James Faris.Nathan graduated from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a master's degree in journalism in 2015, and from Columbia University in 2011.
