Entomophagy - Korean Edible Insects Industry Research

Introduction

• Edible insects not only shine a light on a more sustainable and efficient source of food but also have proven to have many medicinal benefits to humans. 21st-century norms characterize insects as non-edible, pesty creatures that only bug humans during outdoor activities. With the exception of few delicacies such as in snail dishes in French cuisine, insect dishes has become almost extinct in the first world countries. However, with the growing population and pollution, people have found meat to be very inefficient sources of nutrition and have been searching for alternatives. Insects are one such substitute that shows promising efficiency in mass production as well as in the nutrition aspect. However, its growth is impeded by public perception of insects and knowledge overall on safely consumable insects. This research focuses primarily on the status quo of the edible insect market in Korea and its prospect.

Competitiveness of Insects

• A study by Food and Agriculture Organization(2013) compared the nutritional content of different kinds of insects to beef. It found that unlike beef which contains both high levels of fat and protein, insect larvaes contain almost no fat but equally high amount of protein along with essential vitamins and iron. And could possibly be the solution to ending hunger in third world countries.

Status Quo of Korea

• Korean farmers have traditionally ate fried locusts and chrysalis. However, with rapid modernization and adoption of western culture, the consumption of those foods have dropped dramatically.
• Since 2011 the production and number of insect farms in Korea have steadily grown with the efforts from the government. Ministry of Agriculture found the market of the edible food industry to be around $120 million, which has grown from $26.5 million on 2011.

Korean Market Players

• edible-bug (에더블버그) - https://edible-bug.com/
• Insect Vision (인섹트비전)
• Hanmi Yanghang (한미양행)
• None are publicly traded yet.