Companies scramble to develop egg-citing new plant-based products

South African companies across several sectors have jumped onboard the alternative protein movement, with many making great strides in plant-based meat, milk and cheese. However, the next opportunity seems to be winking from the horizon, and it is something that companies might not have egg-spected.

Donovan Will, Director of ProVeg SA

Companies have been producing soy and almond milk for as long as we can remember, with newer options like pea and potato milk emerging only recently. On the meat side, many would argue that at least some options, like Beyond Meat’s beef-style burger or On The Greenside’s chicken-style fillets, are indifferentiable from the products they replace (and some have gone as far as to say that they are improvements).

For those who are looking to avoid animal products, for health, environmental or ethical reasons, there is one product whose replacement is not freely available, and that has created potentially huge opportunities for local food manufacturers. That product is the egg.

For baking applications, there are already many well-known alternatives like banana, flax seeds, chickpea flour and packaged egg replacers like NoEgg. Using these replacements not only allows food companies to appeal to health, environmental and ethical considerations, but also removes an allergen, and often improves shelf-life and reduces input costs.

When consumers think of eggs though, they think of fried, poached, scrambled eggs or omelettes. Like milk, cheese and meat, there is a growing demand for plant-based alternatives that mimic these foods at a reasonable or equal cost. This creates a potentially huge opportunity for local food manufacturers.

Some of the main ingredients being investigated as base ingredients to manufacture plant-based eggs include mung beans, chickpeas and fava beans.

There are international leaders, like Just, who has a liquid egg that claims to make the perfect scramble, and whose Just Egg folded egg is available in South Africa. While reviews are quite positive, these products have limited applications - like not being able to be served ‘sunny side up’.

A few small local firms are proving that South Africans are extremely innovative and are demonstrating what is already possible with modern food science. Urban Vegan launched a new egg that can be used to make scrambled ‘egg’ or omelettes. Perhaps the most innovative ‘egg’ we have seen locally is Vegan Streetfood’s crackable egg. This egg alternative product looks just like a fried egg and even comes in a plastic egg casing for the added enjoyment of being able to ‘crack’ an eggshell. This product also sports a realistic poppable yolk allowing consumers to finally enjoy a sunny-side-up plant-based fried egg.

Some of the main ingredients being investigated as base ingredients to manufacture these plant-based eggs include mung beans, chickpeas and fava beans. Flavourants may include Kala namak (a volcanic salt with a taste that resembles boiled egg) and more well-known spices like turmeric. These ingredients often have less saturated fat, contain fibre and can have increased health benefits.

These firms are priming the scene for product development by even bigger companies with more resources and expertise, and as these products are improved, multiple layers of opportunities are created. New formats of legumes and other proteins can be developed to use as base ingredients, plant-based materials to manufacture realistic “eggshells”, omelette mixes, and even plant-based ready-meals that appeal to the vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian market.

Currently, South Africans consume between 150 and 159 eggs per person with a national population of about 60 million people. This is in stark contrast with the plant-based egg market, which is virtually open for the taking.

According to Factmr.com, the global vegan egg market experienced year-on-year growth of 6.9%, which accounted for US$1.5 billion in 2021. Growth is expected to continue to rise. There is no reason South African firms cannot take a big share of this international market, and help to grow the local demand too.

More research and development is still needed to perfect the plant-based egg, and even then more work is needed to get the price point to a place where they can compete with chicken eggs. Considering the ingredients and the rapid overall growth, this presents a huge opportunity for SA food manufacturers to be a world leader in one of the fastest-growing global food segments. •