Browsing by Author "Kauppi, Hanna"

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Insect economy and marketing: How much and in what way could insects be shown in packaging?
(2016) Kauppi, Hanna
School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
Agriculture, especially meat production, has a significant impact on the environment. In the future, the challenges are the growing population and its sustainable food production. In 2013, United Nations’ Agriculture and Food Organisation published a report that suggests entomophagy – the eating of insects – has the potential to become one of the most sustainable protein sources in the future. Currently, approximately two billion people eat insects as part of their daily diet, but for us Westeners, insect eating feels unusual. However, the existing trend of healthy diet in the West can facilitate the adoption of insect products. Insect products are already available in foreign markets and when the EU legal restrictions are removed, the markets will open in Fin-land. The aim of this study is to find ways to market insect products to Western – especially Finnish – consumers, through packaging design. This study is based on a literature analysis and packaging test for consumer behaviour. The literature analysis explains the reasons for entomophagy, origins of disgust reactions, as well as the basis for packaging design and consumer behaviour. The literature indicates that Western consumers most likely adopt insect eating if the insects are served in a processed form, such as powder, or used as an additional ingredient in familiar foods. Currently, one of the most popular in-sect products is a protein bar. Therefore, its packaging was selected as the test product. The question of whether images of insects should be shown in packaging is answered in this thesis. The results of the consumer behaviour test indicate that impressions on insect products vary between consumers, for example, women and men scored differently. Graphic design elements such colour and typography had an impact on respondents’ selections and in some cases colour had an even bigger role than the insect. It is important for the future research to recognise that insects as food ingredients can be illustrated in multiple ways. The results of this study show that abstract representations of insects generally cause less repulsion than realistic images. The packaging test has been made in collaboration with second-year packaging and branding students at Lahti Institute of Design. The findings of this study can have strategic relevance for brand managers targeting prospective consumers. This thesis is also useful for packaging designers who design new insect product packaging for Western and especially Finnish markets.