From creepy to crispy: species-specific acceptance of insect flours in crackers through a discrete choice experiment on young consumer preferences

This study aims to investigate Italian consumers’ interest and their willingness to pay (WTP) for crackers containing Tenebrio and cricket flour. Through a discrete choice experiment this study estimated consumers’ utility and WTP of a stratified sample of young consumers for different combinations of extrinsic attributes—such as flour type, extrinsic characteristics, and packaging— while incorporating psychometric scales to capture trade-offs across product alternatives. Results indicate that insect flours generate lower utility compared to wheat flour. However, when socio-demographic and psychological interactions are considered, substantial variability in WTP emerges. This heterogeneity is largely driven by gender, age, and food neophobia. For cricket flour, female respondents and late Millennials exhibit lower WTP, whereas mealworm flour acceptance is more strongly influenced by psychometric traits, with older and more neophobic consumers showing greater resistance. Overall, acceptance declines with age and varies within generational cohorts, highlighting the importance of intra-generational differences in shaping consumer responses.