Sumitomo Corp., in collaboration with Sumitomo Corporation do Brasil S.A., has revealed a shared investment initiative in Cyns, a biotech company situated in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with the goal of advancing black soldier fly (BSF) cultivation in Latin America.
Established in 2015, Cyns specializes in sustainable animal nutrition derived from insects in South America. Its BSF components are featured in pet treats, bird feed, and other unconventional pet consumables, accessible in major Brazilian pet retail chains.
Lambarin Investimentos, a Brazilian family office and wealth management entity, has also engaged in the inaugural funding round alongside Sumitomo.
According to João Pisa, Director at Cyns, “We are confident in our highly competitive technology and the development of a top-tier product. The collaboration with Lambarim and Sumitomo will extend our commercial reach in the Americas and globally, allowing us to scale production to meet the demands of this industry.”
Cyns asserts its distinction as the inaugural entity to secure regulatory endorsement for the manufacture and promotion of BSF-derived components for animal nourishment in Brazil. Nestled in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, a prime agtech nucleus in Brazil, the firm has devised an innovative, cost-effective horizontal BSF breeding model. This model achieves elevated bioconversion rates with minimal HVAC prerequisites, leveraging Brazil’s naturally suitable circumstances for BSF breeding and the copious availability of sustainable food byproducts utilized as nourishment for BSF larvae.
Initiated in 2015 as a venture under Bug Biological Agents, Cyns secured its first angel investment from Lambarin Investimentos in 2020. In 2022, Cyns inaugurated Brazil’s pioneering BSF industrial pilot, which obtained regulatory sanction. Since then,
João Simões, Head of the Insect Protein Project at Sumitomo Corporation do Brasil S.A., expressed enthusiasm for supporting the accelerated growth and dispersion of substitute nutritional ingredients indispensable for animal sustenance in Latin America. He stressed the imperative of guaranteeing a sustainable supply chain and diminishing carbon footprint, underscoring their satisfaction in partnering with Cyns for this pivotal endeavor.
The recent investment from Sumitomo and Lambarin aspires to facilitate Cyns’ subsequent growth phase, entailing the establishment of a new BSF breeding facility capable of generating 1,000 MT of BSF meal annually. This expansion aims to target untapped markets, such as dog and cat provisions, aquaculture, and monogastric livestock in Brazil and Latin America. The company is also gearing up for its Series A financing round in 2026, anticipating escalated production capacity expansion within Brazil and overseas, commencing with adjacent South American nations.
Insect-based nutrition emerges as a leading antidote for significantly diminishing the carbon footprint of animal sustenance, an arena that, along with agriculture, represents the second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, amounting to around 25% of total emissions. Insect-based constituents are acknowledged for their markedly reduced carbon intensity compared to plant and animal-based analogs, contributing to a 60% to 70% or more reduction in the carbon footprint of pet food and animal feed.
Concurrently with the investment, Sumitomo Corporation do Brasil has inked a commercial collaboration accord with Cyns, designating Sumitomo Corporation do Brasil as the leader in application development and R&D, as well as the promoter of Cyns’ products in the Americas region.
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