Näak aired on the TV show Dragon's Den on CBC. Being on this popular show was a great way for us to share our story and what our company has to offer.

Näak x Dragons' Den

We went on Dragons' Den Season 13 hoping to make a deal with one of the panel members. We were asking for $200,000 in exchange for 15% of our business. The Dragons got the chance to try our energy bars, and we received positive feedback on the taste of our product. In the end, we received an offer from Arlene Dickinson for $200,000 in exchange for 25% of our company, and we accepted the deal.

Dragons' Den was a great experience for us, and we are thankful for this opportunity. If you're a new customer and want to try our products, use the code DRAGON at checkout to enjoy 15% off your first purchase on our online store.

Use promo code DRAGON at checkout for 15% off.

Two friends, one mission

Näak started when my friend Minh and I qualified for the Triathlon World Championships in 2016. Upon qualifying for this race, we started to pay attention to the impact that nutrition could have on our athletic performance.

It was only when we tried all the energy bars in our local grocery store that we realized none of them matched our values and needs; products that were good for our performance, our health, and the environment. 

So we created Näak Ultra Energy Bars, the Nutrition for Athletes and Adventurers who run Kilometers.

One of our friends introduced us to the idea of adding insects to our diet. Soon after, we started to do some research and stumbled upon a report published by the FAO in 2013 entitled “Edible insects: Future prospects for food and security.”

After investigating entomophagy more, we quickly realized that insects were very nutritious, and that farming insects was more eco-friendly than farming animals. That’s when we decided to start Näak; a company that makes food products for active people using cricket powder.

In doing so, the idea to deliver the maximum performance for the minimum environmental impact was refined. Three years later, we expanded our product range with the launch of plant-based energy bars.

Lots of work went into the development and launch of Näak products. We teamed up with sports nutritionists and chefs in order to develop our first product: energy bars. This product is now available in 4 different flavours, and you can read all about it here.

Since then, we have released more products for active people, such as our cricket powder. In the 4 years since, Näak has been embraced into the hearts of thousands athletes and adventurers. Näak products are now available in over 800 stores across Canada.

To this day, we are constantly working hard to create new products made of cricket powder that are delicious, eco-friendly, and accessible to everyone. With Näak, we strive to democratize this new diet that includes insects, because eating insects is cool!