A blood test seems simple on the surface — a needle goes in, a vial fills up, and results follow. The same applies to vaccines or even over-the-counter pregnancy kits. But behind these everyday medical tools lies a complex world of protein biologics — specialised molecules that power diagnostics, trigger immune responses, and treat diseases.
These biologics are essential across healthcare, from cancer therapies to research tools. Yet, producing them is anything but simple. Manufacturing requires expensive infrastructure, specialised facilities, and advanced expertise. As a result, access remains limited, especially in emerging markets where demand is growing rapidly.
In many cases, the cost of complex biologics can exceed $500,000 annually, making them inaccessible to a large portion of the global population.
A Bengaluru-based startup, Loopworm, believes it has found a radically different way to solve this problem — by turning insects into bio-factories.
Rethinking Protein Manufacturing With Insects
Founded in 2019 by Ankit Alok Bagaria and Abhi Gawri, Loopworm is building a bio-manufacturing platform that uses insects like silkworms and black soldier flies to produce proteins at scale.
Instead of relying on traditional bioreactors — which are capital-intensive and complex — the startup leverages insects as natural converters of plant material into protein and fat. These insects act as biological systems capable of producing valuable molecules more efficiently and at a significantly lower cost.
According to the founders, this approach can reduce protein manufacturing costs by 50% to as much as 80%, depending on the complexity of the molecule.
But Loopworm’s ambition goes far beyond cost savings. It aims to fundamentally change how the world produces biologics.
Building A Business From Animal Nutrition
While the long-term vision lies in high-value biologics, Loopworm’s current revenue engine comes from animal nutrition.
The company processes insects into protein concentrates and Omega-3-rich oils, which are used in aquaculture, poultry, and pet food. These products are sold to feed manufacturers in India and exported to global markets including Japan, Europe, and South America.
This strategy provides two key advantages. First, it generates steady revenue in a relatively established market. Second, it allows the company to refine its manufacturing processes before entering the more complex biologics segment.
In FY25, Loopworm reported revenue of ₹4.5 crore and is projecting ₹15–18 crore in FY26, driven largely by export demand. The animal nutrition vertical is already operationally profitable, giving the startup a strong foundation for expansion.
However, the founders are clear that this is just the beginning.
As Bagaria puts it, Loopworm is not merely an insect protein company — it is a manufacturing platform that uses insects to produce what the world needs.
Competing With Legacy Industries, Not Startups
Interestingly, Loopworm does not view other insect protein startups as its primary competition. Instead, it is targeting long-established industries.
In animal nutrition, it competes with traditional feed inputs such as fish meal and krill meal, dominated by companies like Pelagia AS and Omega Protein Corp.
In biologics, the competition becomes even more formidable — large global biomanufacturers that rely on conventional bioreactor-based systems.
These industries are deeply entrenched, but they also come with inefficiencies. Loopworm’s bet is that a more flexible, biology-driven approach can disrupt them over time.
The Origin Story: From Failure To Insight
Before Loopworm, Bagaria had already experienced the challenges of building in agriculture.
His first venture, AgroSnap, focused on developing a crop leaf-imaging system to guide fertiliser usage. Despite three years of effort, the idea failed to scale.
However, that failure provided valuable insight — particularly about where real value lies in agriculture.
When Bagaria teamed up with Gawri in 2018, they decided to approach the sector differently. Instead of building tools for farmers, they wanted to create something at the intersection of biology, manufacturing, and global demand.
They began by asking a simple question: which biological resources are abundant yet underutilised?
Their research led them to four categories — microorganisms, algae, insects, and food industry byproducts. Among these, insects stood out.
A United Nations report highlighting insects as the future of food and feed further strengthened their conviction.
Why India Is Ideal For Insect-Based Manufacturing
India offered a unique advantage.
The country has a strong sericulture industry, producing over 41,000 tonnes of raw silk annually. However, a significant portion of the silkworm lifecycle — particularly the pupae — is discarded as waste.
This byproduct is rich in protein and fat, yet remains largely unused.
Loopworm saw an opportunity to convert this waste into high-value inputs.
Additionally, India’s tropical climate is well-suited for insect farming, and the country’s cost advantages make it an ideal base for large-scale bio-manufacturing.
By combining these factors, Loopworm built a model that connects underutilised biological resources with global demand.
Turning Silkworms Into Industrial Inputs
At its core, Loopworm’s process is about transforming biological variability into industrial consistency.
Silkworms naturally convert plant material into protein and lipids with high efficiency. However, raw insect biomass is not directly usable. It is inconsistent, perishable, and difficult to store or transport.
Loopworm addresses this through proprietary processing systems.
The company breaks down the biomass, separates its components, and refines them into stable formats such as protein powders and oils. These products can then be standardised, stored, and integrated into existing manufacturing systems.
Bagaria compares this process to refining crude oil — turning a raw, messy input into a reliable industrial product.
One of the biggest challenges is maintaining consistency. Feed manufacturers require uniform quality across batches, something that is difficult to achieve with biological inputs.
To solve this, Loopworm has built in-house systems and continuously refined them through trial and error over several years.
Cracking Market Adoption
Building the technology was only half the battle. Convincing customers was equally challenging.
Feed manufacturers were initially hesitant to adopt something as unconventional as silkworm-based protein. To overcome this, Loopworm focused on what buyers care about most — reliability, safety, and performance.
The company ensured consistent protein levels, secured necessary certifications, and demonstrated measurable benefits such as improved growth rates and reduced mortality in aquaculture.
Even then, adoption was slow. Loopworm spent months running trials and validating its products before securing its first customers.
Exports introduced another layer of complexity.
In markets like Japan and Europe, insect protein is typically associated with black soldier fly larvae. Silkworm-based protein was largely unfamiliar.
This meant Loopworm had to first educate the market before selling into it — effectively building a new category from scratch.
Expanding Globally
Today, Loopworm supplies shrimp feed manufacturers across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal. Internationally, it works with aquaculture producers in Thailand and Vietnam, as well as pet food companies in Europe and Scandinavia.
This growing footprint highlights the increasing acceptance of insect-based inputs, particularly in performance-driven markets.
The company is also developing additional products, including a biostimulant for crops. Trials are currently underway in collaboration with ICAR – Indian Institute of Pulses Research to evaluate its effectiveness on crops like mungbean, urdbean, and chickpea.
Moving Into High-Value Biologics
While animal nutrition provides a strong base, Loopworm’s long-term ambition lies in recombinant proteins — the building blocks of modern biologics.
The company is exploring the use of silkworms to produce specialised proteins for diagnostics and research applications.
Early experiments have shown promising results, including the successful production of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), a widely used tool in biological research.
However, scaling this segment comes with significant challenges.
Unlike feed products, biologics require extensive validation, regulatory approvals, and global standardisation. The timelines are longer, and the expectations are much higher.
According to the founders, this transition represents an entirely new level of complexity.
Funding And Growth Trajectory
Loopworm has raised capital through a mix of venture funding and grants.
It secured ₹25.8 crore in September 2022 from Omnivore Ventures, followed by ₹27.8 crore in June 2025 from Enrission Capital and WaterBridge Ventures.
In its early days, the company also received support from multiple grant programs, including BIRAC’s Biotechnology Ignition Grant, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Elevate Karnataka, Tata Trusts, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and H&M Foundation.
These funds helped Loopworm build its initial infrastructure and navigate the capital-intensive early stages.
The Road Ahead
As Loopworm looks ahead, its challenge is twofold.
First, it must scale its existing animal nutrition business to meet growing global demand. Second, it must successfully transition into biologics — a market that is far more complex but also significantly more valuable.
The broader question extends beyond the company itself: can insects become a mainstream manufacturing layer?
For now, Loopworm is steadily building the foundation — refining its technology, expanding its markets, and pushing the boundaries of what insect-based systems can achieve.
If it succeeds, it could redefine how the world produces protein — not just for feed, but for medicine, research, and beyond.