Alternative egg product to increase in availability

In a matter of months, Just, Inc. has sold the plant-based equivalent of 10 million chicken eggs in its product JUST Egg.

Photo courtesy of JUST Inc.
Photo courtesy of JUST Inc.

JUST Egg, a plant-based egg product from JUST, Inc., is now on the shelves at 20 of the 23 largest U.S. retailers, and sales are strong explained Andrew Noyes, head of global communications at JUST.

"In a matter of months, we've sold the plant-based equivalent of 10 million chicken eggs," Noyes said. This is a rather fast expansion, as of July 2018 JUST Egg was not available in any retail stores. 

While eggs are the least developed category in the plant-based protein sector, Noyes explained it is the fastest growing and offers the most growth potential according to a recent report from the Good Food Institute and Plant-Based Food Association. "Our foodservice footprint is now nationwide in the U.S., including restaurants, corporate cafeterias, colleges, government, hotels and more," he said.

The company is working with major egg companies manufacturing and distribution to scale and reach consumers nationally.

Noyes said the alternative protein trend has had an impact on stores agreeing to sell the JUST Egg product. "Consumer are increasingly looking for new sources of protein and JUST Egg is bringing new consumers to the egg aisle," he said. He added that because the product interest a new customer base it is not cannibalizing traditional egg sales.

"Of those choosing JUST Egg in consumer studies, 77% are meat eaters (omnivores or flexitarians); 21% are non-meat eaters, including 10% vegetarians, and 6% vegans; 57% plan to eat more plant-based proteins in the next year," he explained.

Further expansion

The first major retailers to carry JUST Egg were in the Midwest (Hy Vee and Fresh Thyme). JUST Egg has expanded nationally since the beginning of the year. Noyes said sales are strong nationwide.

JUST Egg's retail and foodservice expansion will continue in the U.S., as well as Canada, Asia, the U.K., and Europe. This includes the recent announcement that 2,100 Kroger stores have agreed to carry the product.

Before the Kroger launch on August 27, National Egg Farmers urged Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen in Cincinnati, Ohio to direct that the suppliers of JUST Egg change the label since the product contains no real eggs. Ken Klippen with the National Association of Egg Farmers wrote that the products label is, "false and misleading to consumers and an embarrassment to Kroger to feature a product with the word 'egg' on a label and find there are no real eggs in the product."

Klippen further argued that products like so make it challenging for farmers that work hard to produce safe and healthy conventional eggs and have to market to confused consumers.

Noyes explained in a later interview that the "label for JUST Egg clearly states that it is plant-based."

Just days after announcing the product would be available on Kroger shelves, on August 29, JUST Inc., CEO Josh Tetrick, announced on Fox Business that Walmart is going to sell JUST Egg, too.

 

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