At a time when first-world consumers are hungrier for proteins and the global food crisis is escalating, edible insects offer potentially one of the best solutions to meet these demands. They are high in nutrients, especially protein, and can be produced efficiently with extremely low environmental impact.
But there's more to insects than (only) protein! To unlock the full potential of insects โ both technically and commercially โ the business models to commercialise insects should be reconsidered. This whitepaper explores potential business paths to scale-up insects, beyond just protein.
Want to explore and understand the opportunity of edible insects, and other new sustainable ingredients?
Check out our edible insects online learning course at Invenire Academy. The course, "Making the unwanted (insects) desirable" provides a deep understanding of the current market for insects and their business market potential. With edible insects as an example, this course is aimed to help you learn new approaches to help effectively sell new, sustainable ingredients. The course is run through easy-to-understand videos and hands on activities to deepen your learning, and develop new tools to sell sustainable ingredients. It also includes 5 comprehensive Market Analysis and Insight Reports plus other bonus materials.
Find out more about the online course - http://invenire.teachable.com/p/making-the-unwanted-insects-desirable/
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WHITEPAPER: "Making the unwanted (insects) desirable" - unlocking the commercial potential of edible insects
1. Invenire White Paper
MAKING THE UNWANTED
DESIRABLE
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Unlocking the commercial potential of edible insects
At a time when first-world consumers are hungrier
for proteins and the global food crisis is escalating,
edible insects offer potentially one of the best
solutions to meet these demands. They are high in
nutrients, especially protein, and can be produced
efficiently with extremely low environmental impact.
To be a real solution, insects need to become big!
Within animal feed, insects can deliver a big
sustainability impact already in the short term.
But to harness the true sustainability impact insects
can offer, they should be used in human food as well.
That requires quantity and penetration across many
categories. Insects need to impact the mainstream,
because quite frankly, the snack bars on the market
today with 5% insect protein are not going to save
us from a food crisis. This whitepaper explores the
potential paths to unlock the wider commercial
potential of edible insects for human food.
2. Invenire White Paper
Rise of the responsible
consumer
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Without a doubt responsible food is an increasing
trend, which is a perfect fit with edible insects!
There are two major trends that are creating
opportunities for insect protein:
THE SHIFT TOWARDS MORE SUSTAINABLE
PROTEINS HAS ALREADY STARTED
While consumers in industrialised countries may not
actually be protein-deficient, protein fortification and
high protein claims have become a huge trend in the
past few years. While Western Europeans have the
highest protein consumption globally โ at 49 grams per
capita daily โ sustainable proteins are gaining increas-
ing attention. Europeans are spending more on meat
alternatives. For example, in 2015 Swedish and U.K.
consumers spent more than double per capita, about
โฌ5, on meat alternative foods compared to the USA.
The meat substitutes market value in some European
countries is even experiencing growth rates higher than
20% yearly. (Source: Euromonitor International, 2016).
Figure 1. Meat Substitutes market size and forecast*, retail value โฌmn at
year-on-year exchange rates (source: Euromonitor International)
Figure 2. Animal/Dairy and Plant proteins, Western Europe, All Packaged
Product Categories, volume tonnes (source: Euromonitor International)
Protein Types, Western Europe, Volume mt
Meat Substitutes - Retail Value โฌmn
Sweden
United Kingdom
Plant proteins
Animal & Dairy proteins
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
200 000
180 000
160 000
140 000
120 000
100 000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016* 2017* 2018*
2015 2016* 2017* 2018* 2019* 2010*
3. STARTWITHADREAM
Anything is possible.
Big dreams are the reason
why the world changes for the better.
Letโs explore your future growth
opportunities together, and
make your better business ideas
a reality.
Invenire White PaperNNETOAFOROTVEOCAANENVRONENTAACT
WILLInGneSS to PaY for PoSItIve SocIaL
anD envIronMentaL IMPact
Taste, price and other core benefits still matter.
However, more than half of global consumers are
willing to pay more for products and services from
companies that are committed to positive social and
environmental impact (Source: The Nielsen Company,
2014). But consumers who take sustainability aspects
into consideration in their buying decisions do it in
different ways. Some rely on ecolabels like organic or
Fair Trade, some are flexitarians, vegetarians or
vegans, and some consciously avoid products they
deem unsustainable. Evidence of growing interest is
strong, as every second consumer checks product
packaging to ensure sustainability (Source: The Nielsen
Company, 2014.).
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Figure 3. Key ethical purchasing factors, Global market size and
forecast*, โฌmn at 2015 fixed exchange rates (source: Euromonitor
International)FRV
Key Ethical Purchasing factors, Global,
retail value โฌmn
Sustainable Trade and Farming incl. Fairtrade
Vegetarian/Vegan
2015 2016* 2017* 2018* 2019* 2010*
35 000
30 000
25 000
20 000
15 000
10 000
4. Invenire White Paper
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The death valley
of insects
Despite the big media hype, the edible insects industry
is still in its infancy. There are only a few larger scale
edible insects producers globally โ and even those are
small companies who produce small quantities.
Existing production is mostly low-tech and includes
a lot of manual labour. The lack of industrialisation is
one of the major roadblocks preventing larger scale use.
Another obstacle in the EU is restrictive regulation,
which is holding back many players from actively
developing insect-based products.
In fact, thereโs a big risk insects will never take off
sizeably in human food. The main reasons are:CFA
โข SCALE BARRIER: TOO BIG A CHASM TO CROSS
currently the average price for edible insect powders is
10 โ 50 times higher than whey or soy proteins. for the
mainstream food industry, prices need to be competitive and
supply volumes comparably big. Most food players want
ready to use new ingredients, without taking the risk
involved in โtime and money consumingโ scale-up. also, the
food industry doesnโt desperately need a new protein source.
Soy rules with its low price, whey with its good amino acid
profile. The driver for quick scale-up of production is simply
lacking.
โข MENTAL BARRIER: LACK OF MARKET PULL
Letโs face it! No one really WANTS insects. They disgust
most people and weโre not used to eating them. Thereโs no
consumer demand, no market pull. And although some
industry professionals can see the big opportunity, most are
reluctant to work with insects. Neophobia is practically
hindering the developments. Many believe plant-based
proteins are all that are needed as sustainable alternatives.
โข SYSTEMIC BARRIER: BROKEN FOOD SYSTEM
Altogether, the traditional food value chain will be an
extremely slow route for commercialising insects. Insect
farming wonโt leap into big volumes quickly, due to the
resistance and lack of demand at every step in the long value
chain. In fact, the traditional food value chain could even be a
trap for the insect opportunity. Long and complex value chains
with poor transparency could easily create new sustainability
problems such as adulteration and social injustice, as well as
safety and hygiene risks. These problems would hinder gaining
consumer trust and acceptance even further.
To conclude, traditional commercialisation paths and
food value chains are full of barriers and lacking the
drivers to make insects big. If insects are seen purely
as an alternative protein ingredient, they canโt
compete with existing solutions - therefore the
commercial potential is limited!
5. The three potential paths
to better business
Invenire White Paper
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BEALEADEROFCHANGENA
When you decide something
is important, thatโs the moment
you start to lead change.
Invenire can help integrate growth
and sustainability into your
companyโs Dna โ to be strategic,
effective and thrive.
Insects canโt be just as good as existing solutions for
sustainable protein. They need to be superior!
Rationally thinking, it is easy to understand the
benefits insects could offer: a complete protein source
with a mild and nutty taste, and the possibility to
produce them efficiently and sustainably. But thereโs
much more to insects than just that. To unlock the
full potential of insects โ both technically and
commercially โ the business models to commercialise
insects should be reconsidered. In fact, the
opportunities are unlimited, if you start searching
business opportunities through the following
paths:
1) AIM FOR INCREASED EFFICACY AND SAVINGS
Stop seeing insects (only) as a protein ingredient.
The beauty of them is that they are also great natural
bioconverters and waste managers. Well-designed
circular economy solutions based on insects could offer
enhanced efficacy and cost savings - with a sustainable
and nutritious protein ingredient as a bonus!
Think about new business opportunities
throughโฆ
โข Reducing waste streams and their costs
โข Maximising the use of material and energy
flows
โข On-site circular economy solutions
6. Invenire White Paper
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ROVEAOTONANANEERENCE
2) ProvIDe a SoLUtIon anD an eXPerIence
Stop asking โWhy would consumers want to eat
insects?โ. Forget insects and think about what burning
consumer problem you could solve. Donโt force them
to make a conscious decision to eat insects. Insects will
thrive in โgood-tastingโ solutions that make
intrinsically sustainable choices easy. This is about
social innovations that can alter demand and
consumer behaviour.
Think about new business opportunities
throughโฆ
โข Making life easier and more meaningful
โข Providing new experiences
โข Utilising services and digital technologies
3) ADD VALUE BY RETHINKING PRODUCTION
Insects can technically be grown anywhere โ in homes,
restaurants, cities, communities, farms etc. Forget long
value chains; insects can โ and should โ be produced
close to the point of consumption, whether it is in
developed or developing countries. There is an
opportunity to start building the value chains from
scratch, with the possibility of embodying transparency,
traceability and trust.
Think about new business opportunities
throughโฆ
โข Giving power within food production back to
consumers
โข Utilising robotics and automatisation for
growing insects anywhere
โข Producing food within cities and
communities
7. Invenire White Paper
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AATN
Why better business needs
new thinking
Businesses in the current food value chain are struggling with competition,
profitability and poor long-term growth prospects. At the same time,
businesses can no longer ignore their responsibility to our planet and people.
Sustainability opens up new opportunities for future business!
So far, sustainability has been an underutilised asset to make profitable
business. The problem is that itโs difficult to create good business with a
slightly greener or more socially conscious version of an existing product.
Instead, the real sustainability business makers are creating innovations
that disrupt existing categories. and this doesnโt mean merely creating
sustainability innovations, but improving other product features just as
drastically. also, for the top sustainability performers, sustainability
isnโt a separate function or department within the company.
Instead, it is integrated into core structures of the business, including
organisational structure, cost structure and governance structure.
this means sustainability then becomes a revenue driver, not a drag.
Lastly, to create bigger impact, sustainable businesses should target
mainstream customers and consumers, not only the โsuper greenโ
niche groups.
Better business is not built in the same way that current problems are.
new ways of thinking are imperative for the future!
Further reading: Williams E.F. (2016) Green Giants: How Smart Companies Turn Sustainability
Into Billion-Dollar Businesses.
8. Invenire White Paper
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As CMO of the Future, Invenire empowers leaders to make change happen. Better business for People Planet and Profit.
Through excellent Design, Strategy and Conversations, we help leaders act on their values and purpose.
Together we craft innovative business strategies that enable profitable growth with sustainability at the core.
We create impact that matters.
HEALTH. HAPPINESS. RESPONSIBILITY. EMPATHY. CREATIVITY. EFFECTIVENESS.
www.invenire.fi | doorbell@invenire.fi | +358 40 8228 848
MAKEREALIMPACTTHATMATTERS
Better business starts
by taking action.
Hire Invenire as your
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
of the Future. Together we can
build brands with purpose
and conversations that sell โ with
customer happiness at the core.
We wrote this whitepaper
Get in touch and see us at the HiEurope Conference!
Virpi Varjonen
Strategist and Ingredient Market Expert
virpi.varjonen@invenire.fi
+45 2938 6104
Twitter: @vvarjonen
LinkedIn: virpivarjonen
THE FUTURE OF NUTRITION
Unlocking the commercial potential of insect proteins
Monday 28th November, 13:30 โ 14:00
MODULE 3A: NATURAL TO THE NEXT LEVEL
New natural: embracing the potential for organic claims
Tuesday 29th November, 15:30 โ 16:00
Johanna Tanhuanpรครค
Sustainability and Market Intelligence Expert
johanna.tanhuanpaa@invenire.fi
+358 40 8228 140
Twitter: @jtanhuanpaa
LinkedIn: johannatanhuanpaa
MODULE 8B: PERSONALISED NUTRITION
Explaining bio-hacking: is there a marketing
opportunity for food companies?
Thursday 1st December, 11:00 โ 11:30