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Edible insect snacks land in Hong Kong – barbecue-flavoured crickets, anyone?

Why French-born entrepreneur Lucie Somé wants Hongkongers to catch the insect-eating bug. ‘Edible insects are the future,’ she says

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Lucie Somé with some of the insect snacks sold by Grazing. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 4:30pm, 12 Sep 2019Updated: 11:28am, 16 Sep 2019

Lucie Somé unpacks the contents of her bag onto a table in a Kennedy Town cafe. “I promised to bring snacks,” says the 32-year-old.

But there are no pistachios, seaweed or cheese balls here, just smoked onion- and barbecue-flavoured crickets, herby mealworms, crunchy grasshoppers and an energy bar made from apricot, goji, chia and cricket powder.

“What do you want to try first?” asks French-born, Hong Kong-based Somé, who is on a mission to change perceptions about entomophagy – the consumption of insects. While it might be hard to swallow in the West, it is a practice that has been going on for thousands of years. Today, about 1,900 species of insects are eaten by about two billion people, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation.

“It’s about erasing the ‘yuck’ factor,” says Somé. “People need time to adapt and see that eating insects is no different to eating shrimp or lobster. It’s just what people have been conditioned to think about what is acceptable to eat and what is not.”

Insects used as ingredients by France-based snack brand Jiminis. Photo: Treasure Me Creative

This month, online food retailer Grazing, co-founded by Somé, will launch a range of bug-based snacks from France-based Jimini’s, and Bugsolutely, a Thai company that uses insect flour as a key ingredient.

Having hosted insect tastings in Hong Kong, Somé says the feedback from consumers and those in the food industry has been positive.

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Edible insect snacks land in Hong Kong – barbecue-flavoured crickets, anyone?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Why French-born entrepreneur Lucie Somé wants Hongkongers to catch the insect-eating bug. ‘Edible insects are the future,’ she says

Why French-born entrepreneur Lucie Somé wants Hongkongers to catch the insect-eating bug. ‘Edible insects are the future,’ she says