Swiss start-up plans to roll out organic insect burger across Europe

20 Jul 2020 --- Switzerland-based Essento is turning edible insects into familiar food products through its partnership with the “world’s first” organic insect farm, Ensectable. In addition to its high protein bars, Essento has created a burger made from mealworms, vegetables and grains to appeal to European taste buds. The organically produced insects are pegged as a future food for their low carbon footprint and high nutritional profile, already enjoyed by some two billion people around the globe. Essento has also recently launched a new range of high-protein insect snacks, including whole mealworms, locusts and crickets.

“The acceptance of these foods is slowly increasing in Europe. However, some consumers still struggle to overcome the fear associated with insects as food. Mealworms, the larvae stage of the beetle, are very interesting due to their high protein content and their ability to upcycle side streams like spent grains from beer brewing or wheat bran from flour production,” says Christian Bärtsch, Co-Founder and CEO of Essento. 

In addition to the new snack range, Bärtsch reports that Essento is currently rolling out the insect burger and protein bars in markets outside of Switzerland and is in talks with interested retailers all over Europe. 

In 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) published a report on the ecological potential and nutritional values that insects have to offer. Insects require much less feed than other animals, for example they need about ten times less feed than cows. Moreover, insects are full of high-quality protein, unsaturated fatty acids, fiber and vitamins and minerals. 

However, stepping into the insect space in an unestablished market has been a challenge. “We, at Ensectable [which works closely with Essento], had to reconceptualize the system of breeding insects. This means handling the insects, feeding the insects, and doing this in a very efficient manner. This is now put into a scalable system that we offer to other interested parties as well,” notes Bärtsch. 

Familiar European flavors like Alpine herbs or paprika are added to insects for increased consumer appeal.A further barrier to bringing initial insects to market entry was the lack of regulation. Essento engaged in developing the legal framework, which opened up the market for insects as food. In August 2017, the first insect-based products could be sold. “We are currently awaiting the novel food legislation for the EU to go ahead full steam,” adds Bärtsch.

In Europe, the market is so new, there are not yet European Standards for organic insect farms. Essento follows the standards set in Switzerland by Bio Suisse, which requires the farm to be energy efficient, use only organic-grade feed material and additionally have high standards with regards to the welfare of the animals. No pesticides, antibiotics, hormones or medications are used during the farming process.

Making insects more delicious
While Essento focuses on making foods more palatable to European consumers, the company notes that there is no lack of gourmet inspiration. 

Bärtsch notes that there are many cookbooks on the market showing how to turn insects into delicious dishes. Furthermore, cultures around the world have developed tasty creations with the nutrient-dense creatures, such as:

1. Escamoles (ant eggs): A gourmet dish in Mexico.
2. Deep-fried crickets: A popular snack in Thailand.
3. Wasp rice crackers: Made in Omachi, Japan.
4. Nsenene (a seasonal grasshopper dish): With onions and salt, eaten in Uganda.
5. Beondegi (silkworm pupae insects: A South Korean street food.

While whole insects may be hard for Europeans to swallow, grinding the insects could help in formulation. A report from 2016 in the Food Quality and Preference journal found that “minced or powdered insect products, sold ready-to-eat can help to increase the acceptance.” One example is an insect pasta, which is available from Plumento Foods in Germany or Jimini’s in the UK. 

Essento also notes that combining or linking known flavors can make insects more appealing. The taste of ants is often associated with citrus; the taste of crickets with popcorn. 

Education also plays a part in broadening consumer acceptability. Essento is part of a consortium that works on the FutureKitchen project, which aims to establish a dialogue with young generations and to further inspire a connected food system and increased consumer trust through its platform FoodUnfolded. Future kitchen is funded by the European Institute for Innovation & Technology (EIT), an independent EU body set up in 2008 to drive innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe.

In other news, insects and algae are also being investigated for their use in feeding livestock animals. This month, the results of a study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (JSFA) found that there were no negative taste or sensory impacts on 132 birds that had black soldier fly larvae meal and spirulina in their poultry feed. 

Last month, Frace-based Ÿnsect received market approval for its organic plant fertilizer sourced from insect waste or “frass.”

By Missy Green