Edible insect marketing in Western countries: wisely weighing the foodstuff, the foodie, and the foodscape

Abstract

Despite secular consumption of insects in many regions of the world, this practice remains marginal in Western countries. Although entomophagy is slowly gaining mainstream visibility, it often triggers consumer acceptance only on a trial basis driven in part by adventurousness, environmental concerns, health benefits, food security issues, or a combination thereof. This paper draws from the consumer and ingestive behaviour literatures and from the growing entomophagy sphere of knowledge in order to surface possible tactics that could overcome consumer-level barriers and thus accelerate the adoption (and not only trial) of insects and promote its sustained consumption. We propose that more effective promotion of entomophagy may be achieved through acknowledgement and a deeper understanding of three separate, but mutually-influencing, families of factors that affect food choices and eating behaviours: (1) the foodstuff proper or a food’s attributes that satisfy established and evolving consumer preferences; (2) the foodie or a consumer’s characteristics including the degree of adventurousness and the relative importance given to various attributes and benefits of a product; and (3) the foodscape or characteristics of the food culture and environment including distribution and merchandising decisions that shape consumers food choices. Together, the assessment of these three factors allow for the better identification of promising strategies to reach a larger group of potential consumers and to promote the regular consumption of insects.

Assessing the effect of baby schema cuteness on emotions, perceptions and attitudes towards insect-based packaged foods

“…The second aim was to observe the interplay between baby schema cuteness and marketing claims. Marketing claims have been the focal point of most previous studies on edible insect packaging elements (Berger et al, 2018;House, 2016;Legendre and Baker, 2021;Marquis et al, 2020). Hence, it is essential to develop a more holistic understanding of the combined effect of cuteness on this central component of packaging design.…”

“…Marketing claims have been the focal point of most previous studies on edible insect packaging elements (Berger et al. , 2018; House, 2016; Legendre and Baker, 2021; Marquis et al. , 2020).…”

Targeting adolescents as agents of change for an entomophageous future

“…For Westerners to perceive insects as an actual foodstuff, strategies aiming to overcome reluctance should be directed towards modifying individual and social mental representations. Besides marketing strategies that can contribute to alleviating such consumer‐level barriers (Marquis et al, 2020), exposure and familiarisation have been identified as avenues that can help further overcoming reluctance towards edible insects (Tan et al, 2015). Pedagogical edible insect farming activities in schools hold the potential for creating enjoyable learning environments to address food and nutrition issues, while providing knowledge about how to farm and cook with insects.…”

Edible Insect Farming in the Context of the EU Regulations and Marketing—An Overview

“…The introduction of insect protein as a rich source of nutrients to modern food chains may eliminate the protein gap. At the same time, edible insects may be revived as an alternative food source and a component of food products, in particular in Western civilizations [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Entomophagy is a new component of the food production system in the European Union.…”