Market Check Insect Products with Jutta Saumweber

Last Thursday, 24.06.2021, the time had finally come: Way to Future Food, a joint initiative of the Nutrition Cluster at the Competence Centre for Nutrition (KErn) and Adalbert-Raps-Stiftung to shape a sustainable food system, kicked off the first round of events with the Digital Insect Symposium. The three-part online event format kicked off with a focus on insect products from a consumer perspective. Jutta Saumweber, head of the food and nutrition department at the Verbraucherzentrale München e.V., presented a qualitative market research study on foods containing insects. Suggestions for improvement were made especially on the topics of allergy labelling, pricing and nutritional information. During the subsequent discussion, all participants had the opportunity to express opinions and ask questions. The partner of the Digital Insect Symposium is the German Food Insect Association.

Insect-containing foods: A market check with Jutta Saumweber

Moderated by Dr Simon Reitmeier, Managing Director of the Nutrition Cluster at the Competence Centre for Nutrition (KErn), the three-part online event series "Digital Insect Symposium" started punctually at 5 pm last Thursday, 24.06.2021, marking the successful launch of the Way to Future Food initiative. 32 participants from the food industry, in particular food insect companies, accepted the invitation to the "Market Check Insect Products" with speaker Jutta Saumweber, Head of the Food and Nutrition Department of the Verbraucherzentrale München e.V. (Munich Consumer Advice Centre). In a 45-minute presentation, she presented the results of a market check carried out by the Verbraucherzentrale München e.V. (Munich Consumer Advice Centre) as well as a qualitative market research study on foods containing insects. After the presentation, the participants had the opportunity to ask critical questions and exchange opinions and experiences.

Discussion about the challenges of insect businesses

Based on the results of the market check and market research study, improvement instructions for the labelling of allergens as well as the preparation instructions on the packaging of the products were recommended for the insect companies. Jutta Saumweber: "It is above all the price, which is still far too high, that prevents consumers from buying food containing insects. It's a vicious circle, as start-ups in particular can only succeed in achieving economies of scale through higher demand." From a business perspective, the placement of insect products in supermarkets was criticised. Franzi Kutruff, from the Speiseinsektenverband Deutschland: "Where do insects belong in the supermarket? They lack a concrete place". In the chat, the insect start-up Pinaks called for the introduction of an insect shelf. Also, the food law at EU level, which is still unresolved due to a lack of approvals, complicates the production, placement and ultimately also the sale of insect-containing food to the consumer and thus represents one of the biggest challenges - Digital Insect Symposium focus topic for the second round of events.

Digital Insect Symposium: Two more online events in July

Due to its complexity, there will be two more online event formats on the topic of "insects" as part of the Way to Future Food Digital Insect Symposium in July 2021. While the follow-up event on Thursday, 08.07.2021 will be dedicated to "Insects and Food Law" with Dr. Kai Purnhagen, holder of the Chair of Food Law at the Kulmbach Campus of the University of Bayreuth, the topic on Thursday, 22.07.201 will be "Sensory and Functional Aspects of Insects" with Dr. Ofir Benjamin, lecturer and scientist at the Institute of Food Science at Tel-Hai College (Israel). Registration for both events is free of charge at waytofuturefood.eventbrite.de. The target group is companies in the insect industry.

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For more information on the initiative, please visit www.w2ff.org. Here you can also find the programme preview for the Digital Insect Symposium.