A serial entrepreneur, Sarah Schlafly has founded six companies.
“I just really enjoy the whole process of taking something from nothing, and then building it up,” she said.
One of her current ventures, Mighty Cricket, sells oatmeal and protein powders that are made using flour from crickets. Cricket flour is a more climate-friendly approach to sourcing protein for food items, Schlafly said, because the development of cricket flour emits less carbon dioxide and requires less water and feed than traditional proteins, such as beef, chicken and pork.
Founded in 2018, Mighty Cricket bootstrapped its first few years of operation before being awarded an Arch Grant in 2021. The company has since grown, in part with the help of a $131,500 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a $10,000 Research & Development Grant from Serving Our Communities Foundation, both of which were awarded last year.
These funds have allowed the company to test several farming setups and methods, including a project that uses food waste collected throughout the St. Louis region as feed for its crickets, said Schlafly. The project will help minimize the amount of discarded food thrown into landfills.
And next month, Mighty Cricket should hear back about a $650,000 grant it applied for, also from the USDA.
“With that funding, the goal is to finish up the feed trial testing,” Schlafly said. Then the company’s plan is to implement more automation in its farming practices and open a pilot farm. “And once we feel really confident in our operations, we’ll open a full-scale production facility.”
Mighty Cricket, which has a team of two full-time and “a few more” part-time employees, sells its products online and at select local grocers, including Fresh Thyme.
What drove you to found Mighty Cricket? I wanted to find a protein that can carry us into the future. It’s projected that by 2030 we will experience three times more crop failures from climate change. At the same time, water stress is going to continue to increase. By 2050, we're projected to not be able to produce enough food to feed everyone on the planet, assuming our population continues to grow at its projected rate. So, we need to figure how to get from where we are today with our food system, to where we need to be in a short amount of time. Even if 2050 feels far off to a lot of people, it's not when you’re talking about building a whole new food system. The goal is to get people on board today with some of these more innovative food sources, as well as to spur continued innovation and economic development in the space. People will always follow where they can make money, so if the hot new food becomes cricket flour, there's going be a boom in the industry.
How are people responding to cricket flour? Every year I see a steady increase in awareness, especially about the Mighty Cricket brand in St. Louis. It still hasn’t hit that inflection point yet, though, where it goes viral and takes off. But I can see little seeds being planted, and I think that eventually there's going to be a point when it snowballs.
People tend to have a very strong reaction when they first learn about Mighty Cricket, but usually it’s just surprise. There are those who are immediately turned off and don't even think twice about it. But on the other hand, there are a growing number of people who are intrigued about it and want to try it. One thing that’s interesting is that a lot more schools are educating younger generations about the importance of insects and how they can be used as a food source. So, I’ve found that a lot of people in younger generations have already tried insects, which is going to help grow the sector in the coming years as those kids become a larger part of the working economy.
How is cricket flour made? The crickets are farm-raised. It only takes about six weeks, so it's a pretty rapid turnaround. Once ready, the crickets are chilled, which puts them into a hibernation-like state. After about 24 hours in that state, they fully perish. And that’s the same thing as what happens in the wild: When crickets get cold, they start to hibernate and then they die. It’s not at all an intense or terrifying experience for them. That’s how we harvest them, and then we rinse them off, blanch them, roast them and, finally, mill them.
How is being headquartered in St. Louis a competitive advantage for Mighty Cricket? There are a lot of entomologists in St. Louis, given how many agtech companies are based here. It’s kind of funny, because a lot of these entomologists, in their plant science work, are trying to eradicate insects. But I lean on their knowledge to raise insects better.
More about Sarah Schlafly
Title: Founder and CEO, Mighty Cricket
Education: Bachelor's degree in accounting from Truman State University
Family: 10-year-old daughter, Ella
Hobbies: Rock climbing, dancing and hosting family and friends
