How to make insect food mainstream?

How do consumers react to insect food? And can their opinion change if there is more awareness of its sustainable and circular benefits? Wageningen University & Research conducted research into it.

The study consisted of a questionnaire with statements about sustainability and eating insects. Participants were then presented with a menu of 18 insect-based products, from burgers, wraps and nuggets to ice creams, shakes and muffins. For each product, participants had to indicate how likely they were to order it.

Sustainability-conscious consumer

Providing information about the circular and environmental benefits of insects as a food source caused an increase in participants' intention to choose fast food products with insects as an ingredient. This was true even for products with a visible garnish of insects, although the increase was smallest for these products. Despite the benefits of insect food, consumers who were aware of sustainability did not appear to be extra sensitive to eating it compared to consumers for whom sustainability was less of a priority.

Fear of insects

Fear of insects plays a major role in purchase intention. The greater people's fear of insects was, the greater the increase in purchase intention after being informed about the circular benefits. On the other hand, aversion to eating insects did not appear to affect changes in purchase intention after participants were informed about the sustainability benefits. Less surprising is the conclusion that purchase intention increases when insects are more hidden in products.

Insects need to become mainstream

The conclusion from this study is that information about the benefits of insect foods can significantly increase purchase intention, regardless of whether someone was already sustainability-conscious or not. The next step is to conduct further research on the opportunities and challenges of integrating insect food into mainstream food offerings. 

More information about the study can be found in the publication 'Eating full circle: Exploring consumers’ sympathy for circularity in entomophagy acceptance' in Science.

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