A case of insects as food and feed in Sweden

Building on a master’s thesis project conducted as part of FINEST, the study dives into the emerging niche of insect-based food and feed in Sweden, focusing on how companies innovate their business models in this emerging niche. 

What makes this study stand-out is its dual perspective: it combines both firm-level and system-level views to explore how business models evolve within a broader socio-technical context, known as the business model design space. The key question the study addresses is how insect-based firms perceive opportunities in their environment, and how they respond through business model innovation. Drawing on interviews with ten insect-based firms in Sweden, the authors develop a typology outlining four distinct seizing modes – ways in which companies not only identify and act on opportunities but also shape the broader system they’re a part of. This framework offers valuable insights into how individual firms contribute to sustainability transitions, especially in emerging niches where rules, markets, and technologies are still taking shape.

The findings from this research offer valuable insights for both scholars and practitioners working with business model innovation - especially in emerging niches like alternative proteins.

For researchers, the study introduces a fresh lens on business model innovation by linking how firms interpret their business model design space with the strategies they adopt - whether they aim to fit within existing systems or stretch beyond them. This offers a nuanced view of the varying levels of transformative agency that firms can exhibit, which is particularly relevant in fields where innovation is closely tied to broader societal and environmental change.

For entrepreneurs, innovators, and especially early-stage firms working with alternative proteins, the research emphasizes the power of interpretation. It’s not just about creating the right product or entering the right market, it’s also about how firms make sense of the broader systems they're part of, and how deliberately they position themselves within (or against) those systems. These choices aren’t obvious or automatic; they shape what kind of change a company can contribute to.

In practical terms, the FINEST community can benefit from these insights to inform strategic decision-making: How do we understand the opportunities available to us? How do our business model choices influence, and get influenced by, the systems we’re operating in? And ultimately, how can we use business model innovation not just to adapt to change, but to drive it?

“Business model innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum – it’s a firm-level activity embedded within a larger socio-technical system. The real challenge, and opportunity, lies in how firms navigate this space: systematically and intuitively exploring its constraints and possibilities, and then crafting business models that not only respond to the context but also shape it,” says Linus Thomson.

Building on the findings of this study, the next step is to broaden the concept of the business model design space by adding a crucial but often overlooked element: the ecological dimension. So far, much of the focus has been on the social and technical aspects of innovation, but what happens when we also consider nature? 

"Together with FINEST colleagues, we’re diving into this question by studying emerging biomass and precision fermentation companies across Europe. These are early-stage firms at the frontier of sustainable food and feed production. We want to understand how ecological factors shape, and are shaped by, business model innovation in this space. This approach doesn’t just offer exciting new theoretical insights, it could also shed light on how sustainable technologies can grow in a way that supports both people and the planet. In short, it's about designing better business models for a more sustainable future."

Link to the publication →