Q&A with Clare Whetzel, founder of Illegal Oats
Clare Whetzel transferred to DU at the start of the 2020–2021 school year. She studies finance and is expected to graduate in
2023. Despite her first year at DU being fully virtual, she quickly got involved with Entrepreneurship@DU, using grant money from the Spring 2021 TikTok Pitch Competition to launch her insect-based protein startup Illegal Oats. Using the health and environmental benefits of insect powder, her granola brand has developed a cult following in Sacramento’s farmers markets. Illegal Oats has been featured on CBS and Good Day Sacramento.
We sat down with Whetzel to talk about her venture, the benefits of insect protein and moving from Sacramento to Denver.
Q: How and why did Illegal Oats come about?
A: Illegal Oats sells granola that is infused with insect powder—specifically mealworm powder. That is where a lot of nutritional and environmental benefits lie. I first heard about it in a podcast called “Stuff You Should Know” years ago. When Entrepreneurship@DU announced the TikTok competition back in May, where you could create a video and the winners received grants, I remembered what I had heard on the podcast. Since the competition had a sustainability theme, I thought it would be cool if I did something that involved insects and food.
Right now, I have eight different flavors. I have been taking it to the farmers markets in Sacramento for the past month and a half or so. It has been doing really well—a lot of people love it, and it’s gotten sort of a cult following. I have quite a few regulars!
Q: What challenges did you encounter on the way?
A: The first idea that I pitched was a food delivery service. It would be like Purple Carrot or HelloFresh, but what made this different would be the insects in the meals. I tried a whole bunch of different foods, but it just didn’t work—baked macaroni and cheese, fried rice—I tried to do “bug jerky,” but that was a big fail. Baked goods worked a lot better once I realized I could grind mealworms into a powder. Before I realized that, it was kind of a nightmare—I would just pour dehydrated mealworms into the batter. I made this banana bread, and when I brought it out of the oven and cut into it, all these mealworms just fell out!
During my last meeting with Professor Neil Pollard, he told me that if you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you started too late. That reminded me of my sad banana-loaf-fail. So, I tried all these different foods, but I gave up on the idea of the meal delivery service. I focused on granola, so now it is just granola and granola squares.
Clare Whetsel selling her Illegal Oats at a farmer’s market
Q: What is your pitch to someone who might be hesitant about the “insect” side of your startup?
A: I was surprised by the number of people who were cool with the idea of eating insects! A lot of my family and friends who I have talked to, and lots of people at the farmers markets, have been at least willing to try it. What I tell people is that because it is powdered, it’s “out of sight, out of mind;” you don’t see or taste it at all. A lot of times at the market, one friend is more hesitant than the other, but they agree to try it together. I remember this one woman was hesitant about trying it but was also curious about what it was. I didn’t stop talking about the benefits of bugs—and it worked! So, I push those facts too: it’s high in protein, it has all the essential amino acids, it’s high in fiber, iron, all that stuff.
A lot of people around Sacramento are really interested in hearing about the nutritional benefits, but the podcast I listened to concentrated more on the environmental benefits. It varies from person to person why they want to try it. That is one of the reasons I am excited to get to Denver! I think the new demographic will be great for Illegal Oats.
Q: Why the name “Illegal” Oats?
A: A lot of people stop by at the farmers market and ask, “what’s illegal about oats?” I had a million different names when I was figuring out what this would be. The original name was “Leaf Eater.” That was when it was going to be all different meals. When I decided it would just be granola, I played around with new names. The second-to-last version was “Honest Oats,” because I wanted something that would quickly communicate it was healthy and natural, good for the environment, etc. I realized quickly that was not my style. It wasn’t edgy enough! I wanted to grab people’s attention with the name, and I thought about how this product is unlike any other granola. It totally breaks the rules, so I decided to call it “Illegal.” The name just stuck.