Is Generation Z Ready to Engage in Entomophagy? A Segmentation Analysis Study

Abstract

This study examines the behavior and attitudes of adult Generation Z cohort members in relation to entomophagy. Specifically, it explores their familiarity with insect consumption, prior experience, and willingness to consume certain insect-based foods and drinks. Lastly, the Z cohort is segmented based on their behavior and attitudes. Through online quantitative research, a valid sample of 742 questionnaires was collected. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, factor, hierarchical cluster, and K-means cluster analysis, as well as chi-square tests. Results revealed that 41.4% are familiar with what insect consumption is, and no one had previously engaged in entomophagy. The insect-based food that the Z cohort is most willing to try is bakery products containing insect flour. The 88.5% of the Z cohort is not willing to replace meat protein with insect protein, and 20.4% are interested in obtaining more information about entomophagy. Moreover, 6.3% of the Z cohort is “willing” to participate in sensory tests, but when contact information was requested, only one factual name with phone number was provided. Segmentation of the Z cohort’s behavior was performed based on eight variables and four segments were identified: the “Future potential insect consumers” (29.1%), the “Rejecters” (26.7%), the “Disgusted, prefer to starve” (22.2%), and the “Inconsistent” (22.0%). Overall, the Z cohort is not food neophobic, but is unwilling to engage in entomophagy. Communication strategies are suggested to increase awareness and provide information about entomophagy and its benefits.

Beyond Meat: Alternative Sources of Proteins to Feed the World

“…Paramount research in recent years has been devoted to this topic, showing that consumers are mostly skeptical about some possible alternative proteins such as those derived from insects. This is confirmed by the study conducted by Kamenidou and colleagues [12] with a large sample of Greek participants. Their results show that the young subjects who responded to their survey-all belonging to the so-called Generation Z-are generally not willing to substitute traditional meat proteins with insect-based alternatives.…”

Generation Z Gender Differences in Barriers to Engage in Entomophagy: Implications for the Tourism Industry

“…Cicatiello et al [4] also showed that gender (male) positively influenced consumer attitudes towards entomophagy. In contrast, Kamenidou et al [3] found that gender did not offer any statistically significant differences across the segments that emerged in their research.…”

“…There are conflicting results in studies of generational cohorts and entomophagy in the Western world, as some have found that all generational cohorts, including the Z-cohort, have a low propensity to consume insects [3,9,12], and some others have found that there is already a market segment ready to adopt insect consumption in their daily diet [11], especially for the generational cohorts Y and Z [13].…”

“…One perspective on consumer acceptance of entomophagy that seems to be of interest is that of generational cohorts [3,9] and especially generation Z [3], which is the youngest adult cohort, incorporating people born between 1995 and 2009 [10]. Entomophagy and generational cohort behavior is a topic that has not been extensively addressed in the literature, with only ten studies existing [e.g., Rovai et al 11] to our knowledge, of which only two studies [12,13] address cohort behavior and gender differences towards entomophagy, which is the focus of this study.…”