It was a tiny bit papery (must have been the wings) but otherwise tasted like a delicious chicken crisp – and today I was happy to eat another one. No problem! So although retailers in Europe must be thinking that customers will never opt for insects they could well be wrong. We are mostly avaricious when it comes to new tastes and experiences and more importantly we know following reports on future global challenges that we need to look for new sources of protein if we are to feed the world’s ever growing population. Perhaps it won’t be so hard after all.
Julian Melletin of New Nutrition Business underlines these facts in a new white paper and states how entrepreneurial companies are already making snacks and ingredients from bugs, to target niche lifestyle consumers whose fascination with new foods eventually leads to them becoming mass market.
Quorn is an example of a company creating products that consumers did not know they needed,” says Mellentin. “They are not led by consumer demand, they create consumer demand. And this will be the key to the success of insects as an ingredient”.
He explains: “When new brands and ingredients come to market it’s possible to forecast success when you see them connecting to multiple trends. Insects deliver protein – tying them to Paleo and similar high-protein diets that are beloved of the lifestyle consumer – and from a sustainable source. Already meat snacking is a rising trend – so this too is on the side of insects.”
He believes: “The successful products will use Asian or South American flavours and people will buy them from food trucks and trendy cafes and independent health food retailers.”
Those I tried were named enticingly Jimini’s – ‘Les insectes qui croustillent and are made by SAS Entoma in Paris. Sold in a cute little 10g red and white cubed box – containing around 15 crickets – the flavours listed are: curry fruité, poivre and tomates sechées, sesame and cumin and soja, with garlic and fine herbs. So you can see why they tasted good. When you get the chance I urge you to try one – reckon you’ll ‘give a little whistle’ of delight.
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