In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the novel food market due to the growing demand for proteinrich food and the diversification of the protein sources currently used. The edible insect and insect based-food sectorhas recently experienced an increase in the quantities produced and traded. This increase has occurred thanks toawareness-raising actions and the development of European regulations. The limited development of this sectordoes not permit in-depth market and business analyses, since it is still in formation, which means that it is still arelatively unexplored field of study, especially on the European scene. The objective of this study is to carry outa preliminary investigation of the consistency, typology and product assortment of the companies located in theEuropean Union and which are focused on the production and marketing of insect-based products. The survey wasperformed through the investigation of the E-commerce catalogues and Internet websites of the companies. Thestudy also focuses on the main insect species used, the origin of the raw material used and the prices of productscurrently available on the European market. The results show that companies are mainly located in the northernEuropean countries and that the most used distribution channels are the E-commerce websites, compared to physicalretail outlets. Most companies also buy their raw material from third party companies, even non-European ones,and then process or only resell the product. The products which sold the most were whole insects or insect meal,mainly based on Tenebrio molitor or Acheta domesticus. Prices showed a high variability, in particular related tothe species used and how it is packaged.
Current scenario in the European edible-insect industry: a preliminary study
Di Vita GiuseppePenultimo
;
2020-01-01
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the novel food market due to the growing demand for proteinrich food and the diversification of the protein sources currently used. The edible insect and insect based-food sectorhas recently experienced an increase in the quantities produced and traded. This increase has occurred thanks toawareness-raising actions and the development of European regulations. The limited development of this sectordoes not permit in-depth market and business analyses, since it is still in formation, which means that it is still arelatively unexplored field of study, especially on the European scene. The objective of this study is to carry outa preliminary investigation of the consistency, typology and product assortment of the companies located in theEuropean Union and which are focused on the production and marketing of insect-based products. The survey wasperformed through the investigation of the E-commerce catalogues and Internet websites of the companies. Thestudy also focuses on the main insect species used, the origin of the raw material used and the prices of productscurrently available on the European market. The results show that companies are mainly located in the northernEuropean countries and that the most used distribution channels are the E-commerce websites, compared to physicalretail outlets. Most companies also buy their raw material from third party companies, even non-European ones,and then process or only resell the product. The products which sold the most were whole insects or insect meal,mainly based on Tenebrio molitor or Acheta domesticus. Prices showed a high variability, in particular related tothe species used and how it is packaged.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Current scenarioEuropeanedibleinsectindustry_jiff2020.0008.pdf
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