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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ith this thesis process, I had an amazing opportunity to engage myself with a topic that is rather new in Finland and has the full potential to be helpful for the whole insect industry. In the beginning of the year 2016, I moved from Helsinki to Seinäjoki to concentrate on this thesis. I was lucky to be part of a group of students from Helsinki University in Seinäjoki, who were also working with edible insects and starting their own business. We lived together, grew edible insects in our kitchen and discussed about insects every day. This made it easier for me to understand insects and think about them as part of our food chain. I am grateful to University Consortium of Seinäjoki for study facilities and encouragement that helped me along the way. When planning this research, the outcome of this thesis was not in sight. One of the major struggles in this thesis process was to trust in the process itself. Working with students and their lecturer at Lahti Institute of Design made the outcome even more interesting. I was very pleased about the results and the attitude students showed during this process. They were enthusiastic to be part of this research and introduced their packaging mock-ups with pride. As well as contributing to this research, they gained important material for their portfolios. I was also happily surprised that this topic gained media attention from YLE and Ilkka. Edible insects interest people despite the fact they are still perceived as strange. People are aware of their ecological benefits and have expressed interest in tasting them. All kinds of media coverage is good for the public discussion, and when the idea is planted in the heads of many, entomophagy will spread and gain a new audience, and possibly become mainstream in the future. 5