Insect Food Products in the Western World: Assessing the Potential of a New ‘Green’ Market

Abstract

Although two billion people already eat insects in the world and the benefits of edible insects are well known, these ‘green’ sources of protein are neither treated as conventional food products nor widely incorporated into Western diets. Using a school-based investigation surveying 161 children, aged 6–15, and 114 of their parents in London, and an online consumer survey with mainly British and French consumers (N = 1,020), this research provides insights into the potential of the insect market in the West. This work supports the idea that incorporating insect food into our diets makes not only environmental but also business sense. A nonnegligible segment of the population surveyed is willing to pay for mealworm minced meat and young children and pre-teens could represent a substantial market segment, as yet unexplored. This analysis points to multiple marketing strategies, such as early exposure, education, reducing the visibility of insect parts, celebrity endorsement, or peer-to-peer marketing, all of which could facilitate the adoption of insect food in the ‘mainstream’ arena, according to the consumer segment being targeted. Generalizations from these results are restricted to an educated and youthful subset of the potential consumer pool and further work remains to understand the patterns of Western consumer acceptance for the range of insect foods.

DNA barcoding reveals incorrect labelling of insects sold as food in the UK

“…Markets for edible insects exist on local, national, and international scales. Commercial availability of insects as food is emerging in regions where there is little or no traditional entomophagy, for example the EU and the US (Collins, Vaskou & Kountouris, 2019). Reliable product identification is a key feature of developing consumer confidence in these emerging markets.…”

University Student Perspectives of Entomophagy: Positive Attitudes Lead to Observability and Education Opportunities

“…Here, we ‘flipped the script’ by utilizing this body of knowledge to increase observability in entomophagy through education. We integrated an insect taste test into a lesson plan where students will find exposure that emphasizes the factors which increase adoption of new foods: increasing opportunities for exposure, expressing the benefits of the product, utilizing familiar flavors, and trust ( Collins et al 2019 ). Our entomophagy lesson consists of 1) a taste-test trial utilizing a culturally appropriate food presentation and 2) an integrated classroom plan that highlights environmental and sustainability benefits of insects as food (see Supp Entomophagy Lesson Plan [online only ]).…”

The Potential of Insect Farming to Increase Food Security

“…Although in this particular case, acceptance does depend on the insect itself, as there is an inferiority complex associated with wild harvesting of insects. In the Western world, insects are largely unfamiliar and mostly viewed as holiday novelty or 'yuk'; thus, awareness of local taboos, cultural preferences and the population's exposure to insects as food are crucial for the successful promotion of insect farming for food [3,15,34].…”

“…In many urban and developed populations, a central issue is food neophobia, but after taking the first step in trying an insect, continued exposure correlates with increased acceptance. Processed insect products such as cookies, snack bars or powders further normalise the protein source [34,35]. Conventional meat has a special status in society, both culturally and structurally in meals, so a sustainable culinary culture must be promoted in order to associate insect protein with pleasurable food [17].…”