Insects are a delicacy: exploring consumer acceptance and market demand for edible insects in China

The ancient Chinese have a long history of eating insects that which can be traced back over 2,000 years ago. Edible insects are often considered a healthier, more sustainable meat substitute and protein source, and their availability in the Chinese marketplace is steadily increasing. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the acceptance of edible insect products by Chinese consumers, and to investigate preferences for edible insects in terms of price, species and cooking methods. A total of 510 questionnaires were collected; 73.73% of the participants reported having eaten insects and 26.27% had not. The results of the Spearman’s correlation coefficient showed that insect consumption was positively correlated with age, education and occupation and negatively correlated with gender and diet; furthermore, logistic regression indicated that the publicity of edible insects as food was a key factor affecting consumer acceptance. Popular edible insects for consumption included members of the Bombycidae, Acrididae and Apidae; furthermore, participants in different provinces varied in their consumption of insects and in the types of insects preferred. In conclusion, we advocate for the increased promotion of insects as food, especially the environmental friendliness of edible insects. For the comprehensive promotion of edible insects in China, we give priority to recommending the Bombycidae and Apidae insects that are preferred by most provinces. And now reasonably priced in the range of 50-100 yuan/kg was controlled to meet the needs of the market in China. In the future, deep-processed (smashed) insect products should be vigorously developed based on the large-scale farming technology of the main edible insects. Our results will provide the scientific data to help further the development of edible insects as food in China.