The word’s first plant-based hard-boiled eggs have been launched in Switzerland. Developed and retailed by the country’s largest retail chain Migros and known as “V Loved The Boiled,” the product is being rolled out in selected stores this month.
Migros notes that the product has been under development for a number of years and will initially be made available in leading cities and online, although stocks will, at first, be limited.
V Loved The Boiled is made with soy protein and, the company continues, looks like an ordinary picnic egg and can be cut and prepared in the same way. A pack of four of these alternative eggs costs SWF4.40 (US$4.83).
The hard-boiled eggs join other products in Mirgros plant-based range V Love, which first appeared in 2020 and has grown to include over 100 items, over 90% of which are vegan. Last year the retailer launched another world first in the form of a chickpea-based yogurt.
While Migros may have been the first to market their product, in the USA food company Crafty Counters is also claiming to have the world’s first hard boiled eggs. These, however, are made from nuts and are said to offer similar nutrition to chicken eggs but are yet to hit supermarket shelves.
Food for thought
If you are still under the illusion that these sorts of products are simply a flash in the pan, frying or otherwise, consider the example of San Francisco’s alternative egg company East Just, which in less than a decade, has grown to a value of approximately US$1.2 billion.
I don’t know why, but these latest developments reminded me of the numerous surveys over recent years that have sought do discover where children think that their food comes from. One such survey in the U.K. found that 18% of surveyed 5-7 year-olds thought that fish fingers came from chickens, 6% of 14-16 year-olds thought that dairy cows produced eggs, while many children thought that cheese came from plants.
These surveys always bring a smile to my face but, in future, these children may be increasingly correct!
