What jumps and is a significant source of protein? In an effort to make the answer—crickets—more appetizing, Meryl Natow (MFA 2015 Design for Social Innovation) has been working for the past several years to develop Chirps, a snack chip made with cricket flour and recently featured on Shark Tank, the entrepreneurial-investing, reality TV show. Conceived of with her business partners Rose Wang and Laura D’Asaro, friends from Harvard undergrad, Chirps was pitched on the January 27 episode as a healthy, sustainable snack option, and marketed as a “gateway bug” for other insect-derived treats. Representing Six Foods (crickets have six legs), the company founded by the three women to produce Chirps, Wang and D’Asaro were seeking $100,000 in funding in exchange for 7% of the business; Mark Cuban, one of the more prominent sharks and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, went in for a 20% stake and eventually the group settled on a 15% share.

Six Foods, for which Natow serves as Creative Director, currently produces three flavors of chips and a cookie mix (including a gluten-free version), with more to come. “We want to bring Chirps to every state!” says Natow. “We hope to convince as many people as we can that eating insects is not gross or dirty, but is delicious and a beautiful thing for our planet.” Below, she delves into their product and its growing success.

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