Shhhh. Listen. Do you hear that sound? It's the sound of crickets. For most of us, the sound of crickets chirping conjures up memories of calm summer nights by the campfire. For Leslie Ziegler, that same noise is the sound of an untapped business opportunity to allow her to both do good and do well at the same time. As the co-founder of Bitty Foods, Leslie is making headlines by using crickets as a source of healthy, sustainable foods.

While this may sounds disgusting on first blush (as it did for me), what few realize is that crickets (and many other insects for that matter) is a common source of nutrition in many other parts of the world. I’m not taking about eating crickets whole (although many folks do prefer it that way), but rather crickets ground up into flour that can then used for baking various treats.

So why isn’t it a staple food source in the US? I dig into this question and many others in my conversation with Leslie today. We uncover how she stumbled upon this unusual opportunity, explore the health and environmental benefits of eating crickets, and the question we all are wondering…what does it taste like?

Well, I couldn’t do this interview without first giving it a try for myself. So I went out and bought a bag of Bitty Foods signature product, the cricket flour. Baked up some chocolate chip cookies…and did the ultimate taste test. Had my kids taste it and see if they noticed any difference. You know what? To my surprise, they LOVED it…and so did I.

SPECIAL OFFER:

I’m so confident you will love it too, that we are offering a special listener-only discount for you to try it for yourself. Go to Bittyfoods.com and enter the code unusual20 to receive a special, one-time discount just for you - my listeners. Trust me, it will be an experience and a story you will love to tell at your next dinner party.

All this and more on today’s episode. Now, That’s Unusual.

Visit www.thatsunusualpodcast.com

ABOUT LESLIE ZIEGLER

Leslie Ziegler is the Co-founder of Bitty Foods, a company introducing edible insects to the western diet. To date, Bitty has developed gluten and grain-free flours fortified with cricket protein, as well as a line of award-winning, all natural chips made with lentils and cricket flour. The company has been featured in the New York Times, Vogue, Elle, Zagat, Food & Wine, Outside and TED, and Bitty Foods was named a Top 100 Brilliant Company by Entrepreneur magazine.

Ziegler got her start in advertising, serving as Art Director at McCann Erickson and Tribal DDB where her clients included Starbucks, Microsoft and American Airlines. Wanting the opportunity to make more of a hands-on impact, she got involved with a small startup in the field of education. It was at this point that Ziegler was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and an interest in health care, specifically the health tech industry, was born. She was a part of the founding team of Rock Health, the first startup incubator dedicated to digital health, where her role as Chief Evangelist gave her the opportunity to oversee marketing, social media and curriculum for startup classes, as well as assist companies with design and branding.

In documenting her own health journey, Ziegler discovered that the single biggest trigger that made her feel well or unwell was food. At dinner one evening with friend Megan Miller, who had just returned from a trip to southeast Asia, they discussed insects as cuisine and whether the western world was ready to embrace this healthy, sustainable food source. Bitty Foods was born shortly thereafter in Miller’s kitchen.

In addition to her position at Bitty, Ziegler continues to serve as advisor to several health and technology startups. She has been named one of the Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company and speaks internationally on health,