Gourmet Grasshoppers Help Rebrand Forward Thinking Company
by Susan Davis on 28/05/09 at 10:04 am
Chocolate Covered Grasshopper, Tastier than You Think
When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, my great-uncle owned a specialty store that sold imported chocolates, fine candies and other high-end, gourmet food items from around the world. My mother loved the fancy sauces, my dad loved the exotic appetizers, but I was only interested in the chocolates. I knew I could count on Uncle Dave giving me a huge box of assorted sweets whenever we got together.
During one visit, he devilishly presented me with a small box of elegant, foil-wrapped chocolates, which upon inspection, I discovered were chocolate covered insects – specifically, chocolate covered ants, bees and grasshoppers. Eeeewww. I didn’t trust any of Uncle Dave’s chocolates ever again!
Bugs are Serious Eats
Although I thought these candied bugs were a joke, they were serious eats and considered a real delicacy in many parts of the world. Still, I decided that I would gladly share the stash with my third-grade-teacher-from hell. She graciously accepted and ate them during her lunch break. I’ll never forget the expression on her face when I showed her what was really inside.
Despite the “yuck” factor, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 1,400 species of insects and worms are consumed in almost 90 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The menu items include grubs, crickets, ants, grasshoppers, dragonflies, bees, locusts and more. That same organization wants to assist in creating an infrastructure to raise, transport, and market bugs and insects as a ready food supply to help support human nutrition in case of possible famine, especially in the wake of rising grain prices and natural disasters. Bugs are also eco-friendly, sustainable, nutritious and cheap.
We have not yet become so open minded as to accept bugs as everyday food in the United States. However, the chocolate covered kind – specifically grasshoppers, played an important role in an attention-grabbing public relations stunt recently. Earlier this month, Grasshopper, a small telecommunications firm in Massachusetts, sent packages of chocolate covered grasshoppers to 5,000 of the most influential entrepreneurs in the country, as part of its rebranding campaign. Formerly known as GotVMail Communications, the firm specializes in providing affordable and easy-to-use phone systems to fledgling businesses. Looking for ways to grow their company, GotVMail changed its name to Grasshopper, as a symbol of propelling forward – which is what they want to do. (Grasshoppers can jump 20 times their own length, which is equivalent to an average person jumping 120 feet.) The Grasshopper team wanted their new and prospective clients to “jump forward” with them. Hence the name change and publicity gimmick.
The chocolate covered treats, delivered by Fed-Ex, landed on the desks of key decision makers, influencers, politicians, and the media, creating an immediate buzz. (Even President Obama received the grasshoppers, but there has been no word about whether he sampled them.) Upon opening the package (which was about as large as a deck of cards), one of the first things anyone noticed was that the Thai product was safe to eat. After all, it was approved by the FDA equivalent in Thailand. (Of course, if they’re anything like the FDA in the U.S., I’d be inclined to decline.) The key marketing message on the packages to these executive entrepreneurs: “You’re a risk-taker, a dream-realizer. What’s left to do that you haven’t already done? Eat a grasshopper.”
Reports indicate that quite a few recipients took the challenge and ate the crispy critters. (Some say they tasted vaguely like a Nestlé’s Crunch bar.) Although it’s too early to gauge the results of this promotional gimmick, Grasshopper hit it out of the park when it comes to generating buzz and Internet chatter about their gutsy promotional campaign. This little Needham, Massachusetts company took a gamble and it played out beautifully.
Are Bugs in Our Future?
Entomophagy (also known as insect eating) may not be prevalent in the U.S. but it has a large following in other parts of the world. Bugs can be some of the most nutritious food available. They’re higher in protein levels than chicken and totally cholesterol free. Plus they are plentiful, cheap and crunchy. And the answer to world hunger – maybe not here, maybe not right now. But somewhere, sometime.
Links of Interest
Teacher’s Source for Edible Insects
