Only few years ago insect companies were largely concentrated in Northern Europe.[1] However, with the progressive removal of regulatory barriers to access the EU market, insect companies are now more evenly distributed across the EU territory. For instance, the majority of companies that are members of the International Platform for Insects as Food and Feed (IPIFF) are currently based in France (9), Germany (6), Spain (5) and Italy (3).[2]

In the edible insect segment, Protix, Ynsect and AgroNutris are currently major players on the EU market, with successfully submitted novel food authorisations for specific insect applications and securing their exclusive commercial exploitation for five years - the maximum period allowed under EU legislation. In the feed insect segment, Protix, Entomo and InnovaFeed are amongst the major players on the EU market.   

Research and development

In the EU, over the past two decades R&D activity targeting insects as food and feed has been conducted by various research institutions located in different EU Member States, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Germany and Spain. [3]

Funding

R&D related to insects has also recently benefitted from EU funding under the Horizon 2020 programme. For instance, concluded in 2023, with a duration of four years and a consortium of 35 organisations, SUSINCHAIN (SUStainable INsects CHAIN) investigated ways to overcome existing barriers to the scaling up of the insect value chain through the application of emerging technologies as well as the development of strategies to ensure higher levels of consumer acceptance. To this effect, the project received an EU net contribution of EUR 1 653 005,00.[4]

Additionally, Insect Doctors is a joint Ph.D. programme that aims at training fifteen future pathologists to deal with insect diseases in mass-rearing establishments to avoid economic losses as well as their spreading to humans. This project has benefitted from an EU net contribution of EUR 4 201 844,76.[5]

Therefore, over the last few years the EU R&D ecosystem has evolved favourably for insects as food and feed both in terms of number and geographical distribution of market players and public funding. For this reason, at present funding opportunities are not regarded as a key driver for the growth of the European insect sector unless if directed at helping companies to scale up.[6]

Patents

If one considers intellectual property rights associated with R&D activity, globally China and South Korea are the countries with the highest number of patented innovations involving edible insects (together they account for 94% of all such patents). While a majority of patents belong to private companies, the Korean Rural Development Administration, a government institution, is the entity that has obtained more patents for insect-based food applications.[7]