Insect proteins bugged by low acceptance

COMPARED to other alternative proteins, insects may be less promising – particularly beyond the research and development (R&D) stage.

According to Enterprise Singapore, about US$40 million has been invested in Singapore-based insect companies in the last four years. There are 15 such firms, with activities in more than 10 countries.

But the market is small as consumer acceptance remains low, says Asia Insect Farm Solutions co-founder Yuvanesh TS. “Everybody was going into (insect) farming, but we were all overlooking the fact that there was a market gap from farm to table. No one really took the time to understand what consumers want.”