Marc Timothy Schotter was convinced in 2018 that insects are part of the diet of the future. During an internship at a manufacturer of dietary supplements for the fitness sector, the sports-loving business student noticed that protein powders and the like are often produced in a less sustainable way because ingredients are flown in from half the world. Schotter’s idea: Insects, which he had already tried on a trip to Asia, could be a more sustainable source of protein. That’s why he founded the food start-up Insnack with a fellow student in Berlin after graduating.
Schotter was one of a whole wave of founders who tried a few years ago to make food with insects native to Europe. In addition to the crawling animals themselves, burger patties, protein-rich pasta and candy bars with added insects have meanwhile come onto the market. Grocery retailers such as Rewe or Tegut temporarily included the products in their ranges, and restaurants made headlines with insects on the menu.
Experimental supermarkets
But the trend wasn’t as unstoppable as it seemed. With a few exceptions, the products are no longer available, restaurants with insects are hard to find, and hardly a start-up is still active – despite the good arguments that speak for sustainability and health in favor of pork, cow and beef (partly ) with crickets, grasshoppers or worms. And despite the increasing number of approvals for insects as food, which is ensuring continued attention to the topic – for example, when a storm of indignation broke out on social media recently because a new EU regulation allows cricket flour and grain mold beetle larvae to be sold as “novel foods”.
An employee of a pasta factory takes powder from freeze-dried larvae of the grain mold beetle from a tub.
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Image: dpa
Schotter tried it in the snack segment, since a competitor with protein powder, which has since also disappeared, had already occupied the fitness niche. Insnack launched nut bars containing cricket flour, followed later by “bug crackers” made from buffalo worms, which resemble peanut flips. Initially, the response was great: “At the time, the topic was very present in the media and there was a lot of interest. When we presented our first products at the Green Week in 2019, we were almost overwhelmed and had supply problems after a few days.”
The supermarkets, in whose product range the young start-up wanted to establish itself, were also open and keen to experiment. Schotter says that retailers are very keen on food innovations: “Many wanted to try our insect products and have come a long way – often even if previous attempts with products from other competitors had failed.” In the meantime, Insnack’s products have been in Marc Timothy Schotter estimates that it has managed about 150 markets, other start-ups even in many more.
Even more sustainable than eating insects
But the momentum soon waned, and repeat orders only rarely came from the stores. A few “impulse buyers” were reached, but the “repeat buyers” who make the products part of everyday eating habits were missing: “Many wanted to try food with insects, perhaps as an action kick or party gag. But it was difficult to maintain the initial success in the medium and long term.” In the long run, none of the intended target groups – sports enthusiasts, health-conscious people, nature lovers, adventurers – could gain a foothold. Packaging that conspicuously advertised the proportion of insects proved to be of little use: “When it comes to animal products, a cow or a pig is more likely to smile at you, but apparently that wasn’t so desirable here.”
Things got difficult for Insnack in the winter of 2019, and in 2020 it was finally over. “When the corona pandemic started, we experienced a strong pushback, apparently people became more afraid of more exotic foods. And since the retailers had other concerns, it was also very difficult to get into the supermarkets,” says Schotter. There are certainly individual successful companies in the market. Even some of the failed competitors have developed a small but loyal group of customers who regret the disappearance of the products on social media.
But Schotter, who now works in coaching, has come to the conclusion that insect nutrition is not the future: “I also ended my start-up because I no longer believed in the idea – not personally , because I now eat almost exclusively vegan food, but also not in view of the acceptance among consumers in Europe.” Food with insects could perhaps find a home in a niche of lovers, but most of the products simply didn’t want the products.
Instead, the way to more acceptable, more sustainable eating habits could lead to more vegetarian and vegan nutrition: “In this area, too, there are great start-ups with great products. And if you go directly over the plants, it’s even more sustainable because you don’t have to go through the insects in between.”