Japanese plant-based food company, 2Foods, has teamed up with food manufacturing giant Kagome to develop Ever Egg, a “fluffier” plant-based alt-egg.
Ever Egg will be used in the companies’ latest product, the “2Foods Plant-Based Omurice”, based on the popular Japanese comfort food Omurice, made with chicken and rice wrapped in an omelette and topped with demi-glace.
According to the joint venture, by implementing a technology called “the vegetable semi-ripening method” (patent pending), they can produce a plant-based egg with a soft, fluffy texture similar to omelettes made from chicken eggs – something not possible with alt-eggs made from soybeans or mung beans.
Dairy, meat and eggs are expected to be the three leading categories of alt-food by 2035. However, despite its potential, there are fewer alt-eggs in the market than alt-meat and alt-dairy products. The companies said they are taking on this challenge by using vegetables as an alternative ingredient versus soybean or mung beans that are said to have a “dry, crumbly” texture.
“Since April 2021, we have collaborated with Kagome with a sense of speed, taking advantage of each other’s strengths from idea planning to product development,” Yoshio Yahagi, CEO at 2Foods, told Vegconomist.
“We were very surprised by the strong sense of unity between Kagome’s management team and the frontline, and the flexibility and speed of the project, which was different from the image we had imagined for a large company.”
2Foods Plant-Based Omurice is available for pre-order online on Japanese product launch platform Makuake and will be offered as part of the menu at all 2Foods cafes and restaurants nationwide.
