Consumer acceptance of insect-based foods in the Netherlands: Academic and commercial implications

Abstract

Despite growing interest in the use of insects as food, uptake of insect-based foods in Europe is low. Existing research into Western consumer acceptance of insects as food tends to emphasise the role of individual cognition in food choice at the expense of social or contextual factors, and typically frames consumer acceptance as a general issue, rather than relevant only for relatively few early adopters. This paper outlines empirical work, theoretically and methodologically informed by a critical appraisal of previous research, with consumers of insect-based convenience foods in the Netherlands. Reported initial motivations for trying insect foods are shown to be substantially different from factors - such as price, taste, availability, and 'fit' with established eating practices - which affect repeat consumption. Such factors are congruent with those affecting routine consumption of more conventional foods, indicating that insect foods should be analysed according to similar criteria and should be designed with more practical considerations in mind. Further, a reorientation of consumer acceptance research is proposed. Research should shift from attempts to forecast acceptance and engage with 'actual' examples of insect consumption; social, practical and contextual factors affecting food consumption should be emphasised; and - following work on the establishment of other novel foods - early adopters, rather than general populations, should receive greater analytic attention.

Insects as food and feed: European perspectives on recent research and future priorities

“…Crucially, the distinction between forecasted acceptance and the factors that have been found to affect actual uptake once foods are in stores, indicated here and elsewhere (House, 2016), suggests that the difficulties in attempting to project consumer acceptance may well be at least partially circumvented by an empirical focus on recent instances of food insect consumption in traditionally non-insect eating cultures. This type of research would be confined to the insect-based foods currently available in such contexts, yet would nevertheless help to more clearly elucidate the factors affecting acceptance of insects as food through an engagement with 'actual' rather than hypothesised consumption.…”

“…Tranter (2013) advocates research looking at children and young people, who will represent the consumer base in the near future. House (2016) recommends that 'early adopters' in the current generation of consumers should be targeted, as they will provide insight into how novel insect-based foods 'fit' with established culinary practices. He also argues that instead of focusing on changing the attitudes of people who are currently averse to the idea of eating insects, researchers should investigate the factors affecting acceptance of insect-based foods among those who are already willing to eat them, as these are the people who are likely to form an early market.…”

Insects are not ‘the new sushi’: theories of practice and the acceptance of novel foods

“…However, there has been little attention so far within practice-theoretic literature on novel foods in particular, which can be understood for present purposes as foods which, although they may be already established somewhere, are newly introduced to a particular context. Possible exceptions include House (2016) and Micheelsen et al (2014): however, House's (2016) broadly practice-framed study did not make an explicit engagement with practice theory, and Micheelsen et al (2014) focused on an experimental dietary intervention, rather than investigating novel foods within the context of mundane food acquisition practices. The present paper extends practice-theoretic analysis to two examples of novel foods, to elucidate how such foods may or may not become 'accepted' and routinely consumed.…”

“…The idea that widespread acceptance of insects (or other unusual new foods) is largely a question of convincing or educating consumers is relected in academic research in the area, which exhibits a distinct tendency towards methodological individualism (see House, 2016).…”

Sustainable farming of the mealworm Tenebrio molitor for the production of food and feed

“…The acceptance of entomophagy (the consumption of insect-based food by humans) is influenced by price, taste, availability, and established cultural preferences [90][91][92]. Humans tend to avoid unfamiliar food and it is advisable to address perceptions that insect-based foods are unpalatable [93].…”