He initially raised them as pet feed – but interest in insects as human kai prompted him to secure a food-grade certification.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sell to restaurants, and to people who want to eat them at events.\u201d<\/p>\n
These migratory locusts (Locusta migratoria) are found all over the world. They were self-introduced to New Zealand from Australia.<\/p>\n
The cold climate here dissuades them from swarming and threatening crop farms, as they do abroad.<\/p>\n
Diack said locusts were high in protein – higher per weight than a beef steak – and contained healthy fats and amino acids.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a really good food, once you get your head past what they look like.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the late 2010s, a surge in worldwide interest in bugs as food drove 10 to 15 companies to set up in New Zealand, Diack said – some raising bugs, and some processing them into products, like flour.<\/p>\n
Masterton business Breadcraft did both, raising native black field crickets and turning them into cricket flour wraps.<\/p>\n
But the craze didn\u2019t stick, and now only a handful of suppliers, like Diack, still exist in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a bad thing, because this is my industry, and I\u2019d like it to have taken off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure it could come back again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breadcraft\u2019s Director John Cockburn said cricket flour production ceased during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have really not considered bringing cricket wraps back – perhaps they were too early for their time, but were not selling well at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, you never say never.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malcolm Diack with some of the locusts he supplies to restaurants. Photo \/ RNZ, Anisha Satya<\/p>\n
Lincoln University tutor in Master of Science in Food Innovation, Dr Ruchita Kavle, said a small market, high production costs and consumer hesitancy were the pain points for starting an edible bugs industry in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough insects are nutritionally valuable and environmentally promising, they are still culturally unfamiliar as food in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo get Kiwis on board, insect products need to be familiar, tasty, safe, affordable, and positioned around clear benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n
The use of insect flours in some products suggested that consumers were more willing to eat bugs they couldn\u2019t spot on their plate, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhole insects may work as novelty foods, but they are unlikely to become mainstream.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe messaging should focus less on \u2018eating bugs\u2019 and more on nutrient-rich, high-protein, sustainability, functional nutrition, and food innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n
How the locusts look after being fried in oil for a few seconds. Malcolm Diack says they’re easy to overcook. Photo \/ RNZ, Anisha Satya<\/p>\n
Kavle said the gym and sports nutrition markets were the most promising for insect-based foods.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis group already buys protein powders, protein bars, creatine, collagen, and functional snacks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cChocolate cricket protein bars, cricket protein powder, high-protein brownies, or savoury protein chips could be more acceptable than whole insects.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, pet food is the most realistic market for insects.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere may also be opportunities around native insects and M\u0101ori food innovation, but this would need careful cultural engagement, kaitiakitanga, biodiversity protection, and ethical commercialisation.\u201d<\/p>\n
– RNZ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He initially raised them as pet feed – but interest in insects as human kai prompted him to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[69869,138,5818,1333,16203,702,117,111,139,69,135332,199,61,6923,1533,24750],"class_list":["post-512625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-anisha","tag-business","tag-eating","tag-get","tag-insects","tag-it","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-satya","tag-take","tag-to","tag-what","tag-will","tag-zealanders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}