Made with mung beans: JUST Egg hits Kroger shelves in US

21 Aug 2019 --- Major US grocery store Kroger is stocking JUST Egg, a plant-based egg made with mung beans, developed by the San Francisco-based food manufacturer JUST. It will be stocked in more than 2,000 Kroger stores and comes at a time of major growth in the plant-based based dairy alternative space.

Consumers are increasingly looking for delicious, healthy, more sustainable sources of protein, Andrew Noyes, Head of Communications at Just told FoodIngredientsFirst earlier this year when JUST collaborated with German poultry business PHW Group (PHW) to accelerate the adoption of its plant-based egg substitute to consumers in Europe.

Formulated to look, cook, and taste just like other liquid egg products, JUST uses proprietary technology to identify which plant proteins have the same functionalities as animal proteins. They can then be used to make products such as mayonnaise, salad dressing and cookie dough. 

The company discovered that protein from mung beans could scramble as well as chicken eggs and claim JUST Egg provides a fluffy and filling dish without the associated  cholesterol and with a much lower environmental impact.

“We believe a just food system starts with breakfast, and our partnership with the Kroger family of stores, the largest grocery store chain in the US, makes JUST Egg accessible to countless consumers in communities around the country,” says Josh Tetrick, the startup’s Co-Founder and CEO. “This milestone is a major step toward building a smarter, healthier and more sustainable way of eating.”

JUST Egg can also be used in limited baking applications for denser products including quick-breads. 

Since launching JUST Egg in September 2018, the company has sold the plant-based equivalent of more than three million chicken eggs in the US, Hong Kong and Singapore, with China and broader Asia also on the company’s roadmap for 2019. The product’s ingredients require less surface and groundwater than conventional eggs and have a significantly lower carbon footprint. 

JUST Egg was also named one of TIME’s “Smartest Sustainable Products of 2018” and was among Popular Science’s “Greatest Innovations of 2018.”

Edited by Gaynor Selby