Why We Sent Clients Roast Crickets For Christmas

The question “what should we send our clients for Christmas?” is always a tricky one. A card? A book? A link to our charity efforts? There are pros and cons to each option.

It’s safe to say that “edible insects” has never received much consideration as a gift. This year is different. Fifty lucky clients were sent some roasted crickets, sourced from the entomophages at eatbugs.com. We also shared a few packs around the office – to general approval. The crunchy, dusty texture is delightfully enhanced by the heavy duty BBQ flavouring.

Bug munching is enjoying something of a ‘moment’ in the UK and US, markets traditionally resistant to insect-based food. 2 billion people around the world already eat insects: the West is late to the six-legged feast. But with the environmental impact of a meat-driven diet weighing on more people’s minds, canny entrepreneurs are working to change that. Our cricket choice has recently gone on sale at leading supermarket Sainsbury’s.

Are consumers on board? As well as our bugtastic gift we were also unveiling a self-funded study we’d run in the UK on food trends – looking at which emerging food choices, from the Paleo diet to alcoholic seltzers, might stand a chance of mass acceptance.

And Britain’s bugs can breathe a sigh of relief. They won’t be on a general national menu for some time to come. The study found that while environmentally conscious packaging and sourcing was a big winning trend – especially when it comes to plastic use – the “protein filled insects” is a lot less popular. Over 50% of respondents picked “Disgust” as their emotional reaction, leading to a 1-Star verdict.