Insect protein in pet food: Assessing consumer perceptions, knowledge & willingness to pay; Guests: Dr. Lonnie Hobbs, Kansas State University; Dr. Kathy Gross, Kansas State University; Co-host: Dr. Bob Mason, Balchem

This episode was recorded at the 2025 Petfood Forum in Kansas City, Missouri.  Guests introduce themselves and their backgrounds (00:51)Dr. Hobbs gives an overview of his presentation about pet owners’ perceptions, knowledge and willingness to pay for insect proteins. Insect proteins are currently a specialty product with some scalability and supply chain issues, resulting in higher prices than other proteins in the market. The panel discusses protein and lipid properties of insects, sustainability, and regulatory concerns. (8:17)The panel talks about pet owner perceptions of insects as an ingredient in pet food. Dr. Hobbs notes that many consumers associate insects with the word “icky” and are uninformed of the form that insects would appear in pet foods. Consumers are aware that insects are a high-protein ingredient and have lower greenhouse gas emissions than some other protein sources. However, they were unaware of the health and wellness benefits of insect proteins, such as being hypoallergenic and having immune support characteristics. (17:43)Dr. Gross details some of the fatty acid characteristics of insects and notes that there is a lot of research yet to be done to understand all the nutritional properties. Dr. Hobbs remarks that this is a key challenge for marketers right now - how should insect proteins be positioned and what terms are customers familiar with? He suggests educating consumers about the benefits of insects as an ingredient, but educating them in a way that’s attractive to them. (22:49)Dr. Hobbs’ survey found that 80% of pet owners were open to purchase, currently purchasing, or willing to purchase insect-based proteins. While respondents as a whole were more willing to pay for animal- or plant-based proteins than insect-based, millennials and GenX respondents were willing to pay more for insect-based proteins than plant-based. (31:11)Panelists share their take-home thoughts. (40:15)Please subscribe and share with your industry friends to invite more people to join us at the Real Science Exchange - Companion Animal virtual pub table.  If you want one of our Real Science Exchange t-shirts, screenshot your rating, review, or subscription, and email a picture to [email protected]. Include your size and mailing address, and we’ll mail you a shirt.