Unibug

Design: Shrishti Vajpai
Location: Italy
Project Type: Student Project
School: IED-Istituto Europeo di Design, Firenze
Tutor: Alessandro Capellaro
Packaging Contents: Food items for insect diet- Chips / Flour / Chocolate / Cereal / Nuggets
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Paper, board

This is a project that explores the concept of how a brand based on Entomophagy can be branded and packaged. Unibug, is a sustainable brand that uses insects as ingredients in ‘disguised’ ways to make healthy, easy to digest processed food, in order to reduce the ‘disgust’ factor associated with insect diets. The packaging, for this reason, uses only typography to suggest this aspect of Entomophagy.

Unibug believes in a healthy and sustainable future and all ingredients are sourced from nature. A bright yet earthy colour palette makes sure the brand appears cool, friendly and approachable. The product naming is a take on popular food items, if they were to be a part of the brand, Unibug. The packaging is fun and dynamic, in order to attract a younger audience, who are more experimental and open to trying new kinds of food.

What’s Unique?
Entomophagy-a practice of eating insects is a practice that dates back to pre-historic times and in certain cultures, like Ancient Greece, they were also considered a delicacy. But with the advent of cattle farming, eating bugs became disgusting, and even though in some cultures around the world today, they consist of popular street foods, the idea comes with its share of ‘disgust factor’. Even though Entomophagy is healthier and more sustainable for the planet as compared to the products of the meat industry, this concept has not really caught on in a commercial way. Again, this can be owed to the factor of ‘disgust’. Unibug, is a widely available brand with food items that people are already used to consuming, except, they are different. What makes Unibug special, is that it uses insects as the main ingredients, and it doesn’t feel like you are eating insects itself.