You’ve probably never tried crickets before and honestly had no desire to. But with all of the numbers showing that crickets have double the protein of chicken as well as more than twice the iron of spinach, crickets may just be the next superfood. Thankfully we don’t have to go insect hunting to capture this superfood because Exo is doing the work for us. Aside from being delicious and nutritious, Exo’s protein bars are soy, dairy and gluten free and make for an environmentally friendly snack. With different flavors and astounding reviews you can finally check ‘eating an insect’ off your bucket list.
AlleyWatch spoke with the Exo team about their unique products and where they plan to go from there.
Tell us about the product or service.
Exo is normalizing the consumption of insects via their first product offering, a protein bar made from cricket flour.
How is it different?
Our bars are made from crickets! Crickets are one of the most sustainable and nutritional protein sources on the planet – they’re 65% protein by weight and 20x more resource-efficient than other sources of protein.
What is your personal favorite feature of your product?
The taste. We have a three-Michelin-star chef on board so all our bars are incredibly tasty, as well as made with only natural ingredients.
What market are you attacking and how big is it?
The protein bar market (projected here to be worth $8.3B this year). The edible insect industry is set to be worth over $1.53B by 2021 as well.
What is the business model?
Direct-to-consumer online and sold through select retail stores.
What inspired the business?
I met my cofounder Gabi during college, and I had attended a conference at MIT hosted by The Dalai Lama on food scarcity, 
where he mentioned that insects are a great source of alternative protein. This was also the year that the FAO’s report on Edible Insects came out, and Gabi had already been making his own protein bars. We combined forces and Exo was born.
How has Coworkrs helped foster the growth of your business?
Coworkrs has been the first dedicated work space we’ve had as a team (previously we were in an open plan coworking space, but now we have our own office within Coworkrs). Having our own space and home base has helped us bond as a team and work more efficiently.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
We’ve got lots of things coming up that we can’t speak about but generally we’re always looking to release new and exciting ways for people to try insects.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
How to work with your best friend and roommate. I’ve known Gabi for a very long time, and we used to live together – and we run a business together!
Are you working on any exciting new features or offerings?
Always!
Is there a connection you’ve met through the Coworkrs network that has been significantly valuable to your business?
We’re always meeting new people at Coworkrs who resonate with the brand and love what we’re doing, so it’s always great to get that support from your neighbors.
Why did you launch in New York?
Because it made sense – all the restaurants, chefs and food entrepreneurs we admired lived and worked in New York and food is such an integral part of the fabric of New York.
Where is your favorite Fall destination in the city?
Prospect Park.
