Back to search

BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram

ERA-NET LAC II - Design of Insect- and Insect-based Food Products

Awarded: NOK 3.1 mill.

ENTOWASTE is an ERANET-LAC project at NTNU in cooperation with partners in Germany, Poland and Latin America, funded in Norway by the NFR. Goal of the Norwegian part of the project is to understand people's attitudes towards insect consumption (entomophagy), and using that understanding for developing interventions which may contribute to increased consumption of insects and insect-based food where that is a sustainable solution. This project has mapped the current state of the art in academic research and entrepreneurial activity related to insects for human consumption. Insects potentially have great environmental and health benefits, in particular compared to other forms of meat production, but research on commercialising insect food is only in the early stages. Breeding insects requires less resources (feed, water, space) per kg, is more effective, leads to less waste, and less emissions. There are also several health advantages associated with insect as part of the human diet. However, there are also sustainable and ethical challenges related to insect consumption that are not always part of narratives used in media and research. Edible insects offer research opportunities, and companies often collaborate with research institutes in order to gain valuable knowledge. Research on edible insects together with so-called ento-preneurs makes it possible to understand their standpoints and needs, especially when it comes to consumer behaviour, marketing and design interventions. Animal welfare issues are also important in all levels of the value chain, both from an ethical point of view and to avoid losing consumer reliability that can affect the whole industry. Design interventions are likely to contribute to the adoption strategies, yet design and design research is needed for understanding the interaction between the product and the consumer. Design knowledge can facilitate a more meaningful approach to entomophagy by creating engaged interactions between consumer and insect based food, and challenge conventional food habits. Working in design-led interdisciplinary teams would increase the likeliness of creating solutions that are feasible as well as appropriate for the consumer market, and designers. The biggest barrier of adopting insects as food still remains further consumer acceptance and understanding the differences of consumer needs and responding to those needs accordingly. So far, the project has resulted in four publications. A review paper in the International Journal of Food Design reviewed the topic from a scientific perspective, as sketched above. Based on insights from the review, several consumer studies and packaging design experiments were done in student design projects at both the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and during main researcher Saara Kauppi's research stay at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands between October 2018 and June 2019. These experiments resulted in two papers; one looks specifically on the use of analogies in packaging design for insect-based food, such as "tastes like..." or "can be prepared like...", and how they may be more or less attractive and acceptable for consumers. The other paper evaluates 24 different packaging design strategies for introducing whole mealworms as human food. A fourth paper was published together with ENTOWASTE project partners from the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL) in the Journal of Cleaner Production and focuses on the development of sustainable margarine with insect-based ingredients. The results of these articles conclude that design-focused strategies could be regarded as part of the strategies to introduce insects as food in the West. This could be done by using analogies in packaging design to draw a link between the known food and insect-based food. The results also show that sustainability and novelty are the most important elements for promoting insect-based food, which can also be addressed using in packaging design. Ethics of insects is a growing topic that should be further investigated and marketed to the consumers. Packaging design for insect-based food could promote cooking suggestions, offer information about the benefits of insect-based food and reflect the sustainability of the product. Excitement (newness of insects) could be used to make consumers interested in insects, followed by functionality (e.g. health benefits) to gain long-term consumption.

Since this is an emerging sector with few commercial partners, immediate commercial valorisation of insights is neither to be expected nor intended. However, the project has contributed to providing technology oriented industry partners with insights about the importance of addressing consumer perspectives and how to approach that. The main researcher has engaged in relevant networks and media in various countries, and is regarded as an expert on introduction of insect-based food, from various perspectives; she has on several occasions been invited to share her insights in formal and informal events, and has thereby contributed to introduce various people to the topic, and raise enthusiasm for further research. The research has introduced the use of qualitative user-oriented design research and visual communication in one of the world's leading research groups on food technology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, which so far heavily relied on quantitative research.

Insect and insect-protein based food products have the potential to supply consumers with a healthy and affordable alternative or supplement compared to more traditional food consumption patterns. In societies however (including European and Latin American), this food category remains a tiny niche. Design interventions, both on food product, packaging, marketing and business model level, may contribute to increase market share for this product category. The academic field of Design for Sustainable Behaviour and Practices (DfSBP) is equipped with tools, methods and approaches to explore and realise such design interventions. These are partly drawn from fields such as social practice theory, behavioural psychology, consumer behaviour and interaction design. The project will include ? A study on the current user views and level of acceptance related to insect and insect-protein based food products. ? Mapping of needs, prerequisites and preferences related to future product lines based on such food products. ? A variety of design briefs that take a starting points in these insights, combined with requirements and possibilities from other stakeholders (producers, retailers and relevant government agencies) ? Based on these design briefs and lists of requirements, conceptual development of innovative insect or insect-protein based food products, including packaging and market introduction strategies. ? Testing of concepts in cooperation with partners ? A final report on the feasibility of design-led interventions in the food industry, with proven or disproven case studies based on the mentioned tests.

Publications from Cristin

No publications found

No publications found

No publications found

Funding scheme:

BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram