Two plant-based companies, Alpha Foods and Plantega, recently announced partnerships with animal-free protein companies, The Every Company and Zero Egg, respectively, to use their egg protein products in upcoming plant-based products.
Alpha Foods will use The Every Company’s egg white protein product Every EggWhite as an ingredient in its plant-based products. Plantega will use Zero Egg’s protein products in its breakfast offerings.
The Every Company’s and Zero Egg’s egg white products are comparable in functionality, however, they are created differently. The Every Company uses precision fermentation, a process that genetically modifies yeast to produce the same protein found in eggs. Zero Egg uses a blend of plant-based proteins to create its egg white products.
“Expansion to alternative meat allows us to further our goal of offering game-changing solutions to visionary food and beverage brands across a variety of categories, co-creating next-gen foods at the forefront of sustainability, food safety and clean label,” said Every Company Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arturo Elizondo.
“We’re delighted to add Zero Egg as our new exclusive plant-based egg partner on our iconic menu across New York City,” stated Nil Zacharias, Plantega founder and CEO.
Coincidence?
While the partnership announcements may be coincidental, it does cause suspicions surrounding whether or not the companies are too niche by themselves and not profitable. As of now, no announcements have been made connecting the two partnerships together.
In March 2023, Plant-based company Eat Just Inc. announced it was cutting approximately 18% of its workforce in its JUST Egg division, which produces plant-based egg products.
Despite JUST Egg’s sales volume and household penetration being at their highest levels, the company said that its egg product portfolio was not profitable at the time.
According to Eat Just CEO Josh Tetrick, the company has ongoing initiatives to increase profitability in addition to the layoffs, including efforts to cut spending on ingredients, consolidating operations and increasing production efficiency.