Chapul cricket bars: People are much more open to trying new things than they used to be, especially in snacks
Fellow insect enthusiast Chapul has been around a little longer than EXO, and sells its bars online and in more than 500 locations across the US. It's also looking at selling Chapul branded insect flour as a retail product, and experimenting with other new product ideas such as pasta, said Callan Chythlook-Sisof, a Winter X Games silver medalist snowboarder and self-described 'cricket jedi'.
"Cricket flour has a distinct flavor, but it also absorbs the flavors of other things you use in a recipe, so it's pretty versatile. We're still a fairly small company but we're really pleased with our same store sales rates - people are making repeat purchases and new consumers are trying them.
"But it's not just the cricket aspect. People like to try new things and new flavors, especially in snacks, they're just much more open to it than they used to be."
Each 54g bar contains 150-220 calories and 5-8g of protein. There are three flavors: Thai (coconut, ginger, lime), Chaco (peanut butter & chocolate) and Aztec (dark chocolate, coffee, cayenne), while the packaging features flying crickets and the strapline, 'Feed the Revolution'.