Pepsi Experimenting with Insects & Worms Based Protein Substitute in Its Products

PepsiCo, the food company that makes snacks like Doritos, Cheetos, and Quaker Oats cereal is looking for alternative protein sources for its products.

The company’s recently posted request on a business community platform, says it’s looking for new and novel protein sources for usage in their snacks and beverages, saying that they would like “to achieve a protein level that provides a measurable positive impact for consumers while enabling a comparable consumer experience.”

The request also mentioned that PepsiCo has already done extensive work with soy, moringa (a protein powder made from dried leaves), duckweed, cricket powder, pea protein, dairy, single cell protein, and mealworm powder (generally made from roasted and milled mealworms). They also want to avoid dairy, egg, meat and gelatin sourced proteins.