Kennedy O. Pambo

Can insects increase food security in developing countries? An analysis of Kenyan consumer preferences and demand for cricket flour buns

Achieving food security in an environmentally sustainable manner is one of the biggest challenges of our time. Using insects as food can serve this purpose because they are nutritionally valuable and environmentally friendly. Embracing insects as food requires information on potential consumer demand as this would determine the success of product development. In this study, we present one of the first thorough assessments of consumer demand for an insect-based food. We assessed the demand in terms of Kenyan consumer preferences and willingness to pay for buns containing varying amounts of cricket flour. We also assessed demand by predicting the market share in a presumed market scenario. The study used an incentivized discrete choice experiment integrated with sensory evaluations. This was intended to reduce any hypothetical bias and to allow participants to acquire experience by tasting the buns. We found significant and positive preferences for the cricket-flour-based buns. The bun products with medium amounts (5%) of cricket flour were preferred to no or high amounts (10%) of cricket flour. Market share predictions showed that cricket-flour-based buns were likely to obtain greater market shares than standard buns. Results also suggested that a market for breads made with cricket flour is likely in Kenya since the demand is present. This signals that insect-based food products may serve as a viable and demand-driven way to increase food security in Kenya in the future.

Exploring the influence of differentiated nutrition information on consumers’ mental models regarding foods from edible insects: A means-end chain analysis

ABSTRACT This study used a field experiment and means-end chain analysis to examine the effects of positive and perceived negative nutrition information on the households’ motivations to consume insect-based foods. It used a random sample of households drawn from rural communities in Kenya. The study found that provision of nutrition information on benefits of edible insects and perceived negative aspects of insect-based foods influences participants’ perceptions of insect-based foods and hence acceptance. We also found that tasting real products influenced the nature of mental constructs. The results provide marketers of edible insects with potential marketing messages for promotion.

Means-End Chain Approach Explains Motivations to Consume Insect-Based Foods: The Case of Cricket-Scones in Kenya

Edible insects are being promoted as a sustainable and inexpensive alternative of enhancing nutrition because they can provide proteins, good fats such as the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), calcium, vitamins, and energy. But little is known regarding what drives individuals to consume insect-based foods. The current study seeks to explain the effect of personal values on “cricket-scones” (used interchangeably with cricket-based scones) consumption in a developing country’s context. Employing laddering interviews and the means-end chain analysis, the relationship between “attributes” of cricket-scones, “consequences” of consuming them (outcomes), and personal “values” driving consumers’ decision-making process were systematically mapped to generate mental models related to consuming insect-based products. The personal values identified in this study cluster under the headings of “happy life”, “(food) security”, and “long life”. Amongst these, the main evidence (ladders) pointed to the desire to have a “happy life” and a “long life” that arise from improved family nutrition and financial position. Moderating these results by gender revealed higher involvement for males. The findings suggest that cricket-scones enhance the goals of achieving core personal values. Campaigns aiming to promote edible insects should therefore be premised on local food policies designed along the identified consumer-motivations. Other than the common nutritional and environment-friendly themes that have been used to promote edible insects; “happy life”, “(food) security”, and “healthy life” themes emerged as the central messages for the development of insect-based foods’ campaign strategies. Other empirical information in this study also have insightful policy implications.