Egg Alternatives

Until a few years ago, plant-based egg alternatives were a largely unknown niche product whose product range was limited to replacements for the egg content in baked goods. Since then, the market for high-quality egg substitutes has taken off, largely fueled by the launch of the internationally popular scrambled egg substitute JUST Egg in 2017.

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Available across the US, Canada, Singapore, South Korea, South Africa, Hong Kong, China, and Europe in Q4 2022, JUST Egg is the fastest expanding egg brand in the world. Supported by tennis superstar Serena Williams and actor Jake Gyllenhaal, JUST Egg is a global phenomenon that continues to prove the increasing demand for nutritious egg substitutes.

Growing innovation power of the plant egg category

Innovation and variety in plant-based egg alternatives are driving growth as consumers continue to turn to cruelty-free products. Data on the vegan eggs market shows that sales of vegan egg substitutes are expected to reach a value of close to $3.3 billion by 2031, rising at a CAGR of around 8.3%.

Product development and innovational power are increasing on a global scale. In 2022, Indian startup Evo Foods successfully launched the first heat-stable and plant-based boiled egg after establishing itself as a known producer of plant-based liquid eggs.

Moreover, by making use of cellular agriculture, companies like Onego Bio Ltd from Finland are already working on an animal-free egg protein that is produced with a specific precision fermentation process creating identical egg white protein without the need for animals. At the same time, food tech pioneer Fiction Foods already revealed its cellular agriculture egg alternative launch to be in Q3 2022.

The market launch of more high-quality egg alternatives, whether in powder, liquid, or hard-boiled form, is expected in 2023. Subscribe to the vegconomist newsletter to keep up to date with the latest developments in the egg alternatives market.

GTFO It's Vegan Salmon Sashimi/ Sushi

©GTFO It's Vegan

GTFO It’s Vegan Signs with KeHe and Sysco to Bring Best-Selling Vegan Sashimi Nationwide

Online retailer GTFO It’s Vegan announces it has obtained US national distribution for its plant-based sashimi through both KeHe and Sysco.  The distribution deal will bring GTFO’s private label sashimi line, which includes plant-based tuna, salmon, sailfish and calamari, to restaurants and grocery stores across the US. The brand’s tuna and salmon sashimi is also now available at Beyond Sushi, an NYC restaurant chain famous for its creative vegan sushi menu. GTFO’s extensive sashimi range first debuted in November 2021, and quickly became one of the company’s most popular product lines.  GTFO, launched in May 2020 by husband and wife Marc and Tanya Pierce, has set out to pioneer the “New Age Vegan Movement” by exclusively featuring the most innovative plant-based food items. According to …

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Ever Egg

©Ever Egg / 2foods

Japan’s First Plant-Based Egg “Ever Egg” Has Soft Fluffy Texture Which Producers Say Was Previously Impossible

Japan’s 2foods reports to vegconomist that it has joined forces with Kagome Co., Ltd., to launch 2foods Plant-Based Omurice. Omurice is a popular omelette based Japanese comfort food, and this product has been created with “Ever Egg”, a joint development between the two companies, said to be the first vegan egg in Japan. Ever Egg is a zero cholesterol product created with vegetable ingredients such as carrots and cannellini beans. Using a proprietary technology called the “Vegetable semi-ripening method”, whose patent is pending, the companies say they have achieved the “soft, fluffy texture similar to omelettes made from real eggs” in a way which they claim was previously not possible. 2foods Plant-Based Omurice is now available for pre-order on Makuake, a Japanese product launch platform …

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Peet's Coffee Spring Menu

©Peet's Coffee

Peet’s Coffee is Launching New Plant-Based Drinks and Sandwiches

American coffee chain Peet’s Coffee announces a new Spring plant-based menu that will officially launch on March 9. Rather than offer a single vegan option, Peet says the new menu is a fully dedicated selection crafted with Beyond Meat, JUST Egg and Violife cheeses, plus several specialty drinks.  The new items include:  Plant-based Mediterranean Flatbread wrap – Crispy lavash bread with warm JUST Egg and Violife vegan smoked provolone cheese, wrapped with pesto, kale, tomatoes and bell peppers.  Everything Plant-Based Sandwich – The return of a fan favorite, now a permanent menu item. Seasoned Beyond Breakfast Sausage, folded JUST Egg, and melted vegan cheddar on a toasted bagel. Three made-to-order plant-based beverages, including the Hazelnut Oat Latte, Vanilla Almond Latte (available hot or iced) and …

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© Evo Foods

Evo Foods Unveils “World’s First” Heat-Stable Plant-Based Boiled Egg

Indian startup Evo Foods has revealed what it claims is the first ever heat-stable and plant-based boiled egg. The product was showcased for the first time at an event in Jio World Drive in Mumbai. To develop the plant-based boiled egg, Evo created a database of plant proteins grown in India and compared them to egg proteins based on various parameters. Once the company had selected the proteins with the best match, it used proprietary texturising technology to create the finished product. “We are extremely lucky to have a strong team of scientists and engineers who made this feat possible within just a year of R&D, including the lockdowns in India,” said co-founder and CEO Kartik Dixit. Ready for launch Evo Foods previously developed plant-based …

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©NotCo

Kraft Heinz and NotCo Join Forces to Create The Kraft Heinz Not Company

The Kraft Heinz Company and TheNotCompany, Inc. announce new joint venture The Kraft Heinz Not Company, which will be centered in Chicago. The Kraft Heinz Not Company LLC will operate under Kraft Heinz and combine NotCo’s patented AI-driven food technology with Kraft Heinz’s iconic brands and powerful scaling capabilities. The two companies say they will work together to develop premium, co-branded plant-based products with an unprecedented focus on speed, quality and scale. According to a statement, the collaboration is the result of both companies’ desire to improve the world by accelerating the adoption of plant-based foods. As part of its mission, Kraft Heinz Not Company will utilize cutting-edge technology to help resolve prevailing barriers for plant-based foods, including taste, variety and availability. The new company …

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Onego Bio Ltd team

Christopher Landowski, Maija Itkonen and Jussi Joensuu ©Onego Bio Ltd

Finland’s Onego Bio Raises €10M Seed Funding for Vegan Egg White Biotech 

Onego Bio Ltd has raised €10 million in seed funding to commercialize its breakthrough technology to produce egg white without chickens. The cellular agriculture startup is the latest spin-off from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and offers a vegan alternative to one of the world’s most used animal proteins. “They have the potential to produce bioalbumen at an industrial scale and at a price point that is competitive with conventional egg production” – Jim Mellon, Agronomics  The Finnish biotech Onego Bio has developed bioalbumen – an animal-free egg protein, using commercially proven Trichoderma technology. The vegan egg white is produced with a specific precision fermentation process that creates identical egg white protein without the need for animals. The startup announces the successful closure of …

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The VGN team

©The VGN

Former Lidl Heads Launch The VGN Plant-Based Egg Alternative 

The VGN is a new German alt egg startup launched by four former managers from international supermarket Lidl. The VGN’s first vegan egg product – The Original, a liquid egg alternative made from broad bean protein – is set to hit shelves across Europe in early April.  “Our goal is to inspire people to eat a plant-based diet with our continuously growing product portfolio of innovative and sustainable items” The four former Lidl managers: Jürgen Achenbach, Martin Hesse, Alexander Wilczek, and Dieter Lamprecht have set up The VGN with the goal of becoming a leading brand for vegan substitute products, with The Original egg alternative just the first product to roll out. The team chose broad bean protein as the key ingredient for its sustainable …

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OnlyEg Float Foods

OnlyEg ©Float Foods

Float Foods’ Plant-Based Whole Egg Products Ready to Hit the Market

Float Foods, the food tech famed for its plant-based whole egg substitute OnlyEg, has announced key milestones as it moves towards commercialization this year. The Singaporean startup has had a breakthrough in the nutritional enhancement of the product with a PCT patent application, while two new ready-to-eat products are due to hit B2B channels this quarter. Float Foods’ PCT patent application is directed specifically to the nutritional make-up of the plant-based egg white and yolk components, providing a nutrient-dense alternative to conventional chicken eggs. The company is gearing up for the OnlyEg commercial launch by the fourth quarter of 2022, with new products OnlyEg Shreds and OnlyEg Patties to be launched via a Classic Fine Foods B2B distribution deal this quarter.  Float Foods has also …

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Brendan Brazier, Founder Fiction Foods

Brendan Brazier, Founder ©Fiction Foods

Fiction Foods Reveals Cellular Agriculture Egg Alternative Launch 

Fiction Foods, a portfolio company of CULT Food Science, has announced significant developments in its novel cellular agriculture product pipeline, with the commercial launch of its first egg alternative product slated for the third quarter of 2022. The news comes at a busy time for Canadian cultivated food investment platform CULT Food Science, as it looks to establish its growing portfolio at the forefront of the cell ag revolution.  “It’s not a fake egg, but a whole new culinary experience, that is made from a signal-cell organism called euglena that contains animal-like and high-quality protein, but without the animal” – Brendan Brazier Fiction Foods, the intelligent food design company founded by plant-based food pioneer Brendan Brazier, aims to reinvent the way nutrient-dense protein is produced. To …

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©Framptons

Framptons Sees Plant-Based as the Future – Transitions From Egg Wholesale to 80% Plant-Based

Proving that plant-based is the future, Framptons has moved from egg wholesale to plant-based, evolving into the biggest co-packer of plant-based drinks in the UK with plant-based now accounting for 80% of the company’s business. “Roughly eight out of ten enquiries are plant-based. Of those, five relate to oat” Founded in 1898, family-owned business Framptons evolved into a contract packer and manufacturer for well-known brands in the plant-based industry such as Mighty Pea and Shaken Other. Today, the plant-based beverage business accounts for 80% of the Framptons’ operations, underlining the general shift of consumer preferences towards plant-based alternatives. Responding to industry developments The company states in a page titled Is Dairy Udder Threat? that “many consumers are transitioning to flexitarian diets. 41% of UK consumers …

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Image: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

Scientists in Finland Develop Fungi-Based Egg White

Researchers in Finland have developed what could be the first fungi-based egg white. Using precision fermentation to produce the fungi-based egg has the potential to reduce land-use requirements by almost 90% and greenhouse gases by up to 55% when compared to chickens.  As egg white is one of the most important protein ingredients for the food industry, scientists at the Future Sustainable Food Systems research group at the University of Helsinki, together with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, have shown that fungus-produced ovalbumin could have the potential to mitigate a large part of the environmental burden associated with chicken egg white powder. Using the fungus Trichoderma reesei, the food tech scientists have produced ovalbumin – egg white protein – in powder form suitable for …

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chickpea-based egg white

© InnovoPro

InnovoPro Creates Chickpea-Based Egg White Substitute For Use in Vegan Desserts

Israeli food-tech company InnovoPro has launched a chickpea-based egg white alternative to be used in vegan desserts such as meringues, pavlova, and mousse. Known as CP-FOAM™ 1001, the formula is a blend of dry ingredients, including InnovoPro’s trademarked chickpea protein. When combined with water and sugar, the product can be whipped into stiff peaks with the same shape, texture, and taste as those produced by egg whites.  While similar to aquafaba, CP-FOAM™ 1001 has a higher protein content and better foaming capabilities. This chickpea-based egg alternative could potentially replace potato protein, a commonly used egg substitute that requires the addition of masking agents to disguise its taste. Innovative uses for chickpea protein InnovoPro’s chickpea protein has a range of applications. The company recently launched what …

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