Applications
Cricket powder for protein bars, chips, extruded snacks, and baked bites, from a Thailand manufacturer that already makes and packs its own cricket snack.
What Protanica supplies
Snack brands use cricket powder to add protein from whole insects to bars, chips, puffs, crackers, and bites. Protanica supplies the powder for your own production and can also develop and pack a snack with you.
We know the category from the inside. Cricket Bites, our own baked paprika snack, is made with cricket protein, and our certified processing scope already covers cricket protein snacks.
Formulation considerations
Cricket powder changes texture, colour, and flavour as inclusion rises. These are the points snack developers usually work through in early trials.
In extruded corn snacks, more cricket powder meant less expansion and a denser, less crunchy piece. Published studies settled on roughly 5 to 10 percent to keep a typical texture. Run a ladder of levels on your own extruder or oven rather than relying on a single figure.
One extrusion study needed 12.5 to 15 percent cricket powder before its corn snack qualified as a source of protein under EU Regulation 1924/2006. Your claim depends on the finished product's analysed protein and the rules of your market, so plan inclusion and claim together.
Powder absorbs moisture from syrups and binders. Check dough handling, bar hardness over storage, water activity, and flavour at the end of shelf life, not only on day one.
Cricket powder darkens snacks and adds a roasted, savoury note. Savoury seasonings work with that profile. Cricket Bites, for example, uses paprika. Sweet bars often pair it with cocoa, nut, or coffee flavours.
EU authorisations for house cricket require a statement that it may cause allergic reactions in people allergic to crustaceans, molluscs, and dust mites. EU novel food authorisations are also tied to specific applicants and product forms, so confirm permission and labelling for each destination before launch.
Published research
Peer-reviewed work on cricket powder in extruded snacks gives useful starting ranges for inclusion and texture.
Results come from the researchers' own ingredients and equipment. Use them to plan trials, then confirm performance with a Protanica sample.
How we can help
Start with an ingredient sample, or bring us the snack idea and work through formulation and production together.
Cricket protein powder for your own bar or snack line, with specifications and documents on request.
View the powderDevelop the recipe, test it in pilot production, and prepare for commercial manufacturing.
Explore R&D supportPut your brand on a cricket snack. We fill and pack in our available formats; custom packaging development is not offered.
Explore private labelReview our SGS GHPs and HACCP certificates, farm GAP certificate, and facility registrations.
Review quality documentsSourcing FAQ
Yes. Cricket powder is used as a protein ingredient in bars, and the EU authorisation for partially defatted house cricket powder lists cereal bars among its intended uses. Bar texture, binding, and hardening during storage depend on your formula, so test a representative sample at your target inclusion level.
Published extrusion studies recommend roughly 5 to 10 percent cricket powder to keep normal expansion and crunch. Higher levels raised protein but made snacks denser. One study found 12.5 to 15 percent was needed for its corn snack to qualify as a source of protein under EU rules. Your extruder and base recipe will move these numbers.
Yes. Protanica makes Cricket Bites, a baked paprika cricket snack in a 30 g pack. Its SGS GHPs and HACCP certificates cover processing of cricket protein snacks in laminated bags. Ask our team about current availability.
Private-label and OEM projects are discussed case by case, including formulation, pilot runs, and commercial production. Protanica fills and packs in its available formats. It does not develop custom packaging. Fees and minimum order quantities are agreed per project.
Protein content and other technical specifications are shared on request. Ask for the current product specification and available certificate of analysis information for your evaluation.
The EU authorisations for house cricket require a statement that the ingredient may cause allergic reactions in people allergic to crustaceans, molluscs, and dust mites. Other markets have their own rules, so check allergen wording for each destination.
Sources and scope
Published studies used their own ingredients, formulas, and equipment, so treat their results as starting points rather than a specification for Protanica products. This page is not legal or regulatory advice. Check product permission, allergen wording, labelling, and claims for your exact product and destination market.
Tell us the format, target market, and stage of your project. Early ideas are welcome, and you do not need exact volumes to start.