Finnish consumers’ intentions to consume insect-based foods

Abstract

Introducing and increasing the use of insect-based foods as an alternative source of protein has recently aroused academic and commercial interest in Europe. In this research, we examined Finnish consumers’ intentions to consume insect-based foods in the near future. As a theoretical background we used Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour (TPB), where individuals’ intentions to change their behaviour are affected by their attitude (A), subjective norm (SN) and perceived behavioural control (PBC). The data was obtained by using an online questionnaire and convenience sampling. For measuring TPB-components a self-administered 58-item Likert-type questionnaire was used. Food neophobia (FN) was measured by using the food neophobia scale. Respondents’ (n=564) intentions to consume insect-based foods were explained significantly (80%) by their A (β=0.749,P<0.001), SN (β=0.133,P<0.001), and PBC (β=-0.070,P<0.001), and gender (β=0.040,P<0.033). Food neophobia was negatively correlated with the intention to consume insect-based foods, ρ=-0.501,P<0.001. We found that women, students, those under 25 years of age, those living in rural areas and those who had no earlier experience of eating insects had less intention to consume insect-based foods. Based on the respondents’ perceptions of conditions for the consumption of insect-based foods, three clusters of consumers were identified; ‘likely consumers’ (44%), ‘potential consumers’ (39%) and ‘unlikely consumers’ (17%). Based on the findings, reasonable price and convenience are most important issues to potential consumers of insect-based foods.