Eat Just is bringing its bestselling vegan egg to Europe after striking a distribution deal with Vegan Food Group, which is investing £11.5M ($15.2M) to ramp up production at its sites.

Just Egg – the pioneering vegan egg alternative from California’s Eat Just – is crossing the Atlantic following a partnership with Vegan Food Group (VFG), which has secured exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute the mung bean egg in Europe.

VFG is set to begin manufacturing the product in late 2025, and has pumped £11.5M ($15.2M) to build a fully automated line to produce Just Egg at its facility in Lüneburg, Germany (the largest dedicated plant-based factory in Europe). It will have the capacity to produce the equivalent of 500 million eggs per year.

“The deal came about through a shared relationship [between] VFG and the Eat Just team. Our aligned mission and collective focus made a joint venture a no-brainer given the expertise and ambition of Eat Just complimented by VFG’s existing infrastructure across Europe,” Matthew Glover, co-founder and chairman of VFG, tells Green Queen, confirming that the product will roll out this year.

“Proprietary mung bean production will be led by Eat Just, supplying this directly to VFG from its Minnesota facility,” he explains. “From that point, VFG is installing a fully automated downstream production system in Lüneburg to produce Just Egg. Other ingredients and packaging will be sourced locally.”

It comes at a time when Just Egg is experiencing a surge in sales in the US market amid the mounting egg crisis, which has shot prices up to all-time highs and bolstered its vegan alternative’s sales.

Just Egg finally breaks EuropeCourtesy: Eat Just

Just Egg’s journey to Europe has been long in the making. In 2018, before it even hit supermarkets in the US, Eat Just agreed to a manufacturing and distribution deal with Italian egg supplier Eurovo. This was followed by a sales and distribution agreement with German poultry giant PHW Group a year later, with the liquid mung bean egg initially slated to launch by the end of 2019.

However, this was always subject to novel food regulatory approval by the European Food Safety Authority, whose expert committees deemed the product safe in October 2021.

Six months later, Eat Just received approval from the European Commission, meaning no other company was allowed to use mung bean proteins for egg alternatives in the region for five years unless it goes through the same novel food process. At the time, the firm had teased a Q4 launch of the product.

Now, with the VFG partnership, the food tech unicorn is finally clearing all the hurdles that have hampered its European arrival.

VFG was formed in early 2024 as a holding company looking to become “a vegan Unilever“. It is the parent company of VFC, Meatless Farm, Clive’s Purely Plants, and Tofutown, and will now expand its footprint with the Eat Just deal.

“The brand positioning and proposition sits perfectly alongside the existing VFG portfolio of brands, products and eating occasions,” says Glover. “Our strategy is consolidating a portfolio of exciting products and brands, to which Just Egg sits perfectly.”

Through its investment, VFG will enhance automation, extend shelf life, cut waste, and improve product quality at its facilities in the UK and Germany. It will also support retailers and foodservice partners with “next-gen innovation and operational excellence”.

“VFG will be making the majority of the upfront investments in capital expenditure and marketing to launch the brand in Europe,” Glover says.

Avian-flu-fuelled egg crisis boosts Eat Just salesCourtesy: Eat Just

The Europe announcement comes just as Just Egg sees “increases in sales like we didn’t see in the past” in the US, according to Eat Just co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick.

The current bout of avian flu has wrecked the conventional egg industry in the US, with over 167 million birds culled since February 2022. Prices have continued to rise, reaching a record high of $6.23 per dozen in retail in March. In some cities, each egg costs $1 now.

With egg shelves empty, if Americans want eggs, they only have a few choices, Tetrick told Green Queen in February: “One, don’t eat them. Two, you know, have applesauce. Or three, have Just Egg.”

The company says it’s already sold the equivalent of 500 million chicken eggs and captured 99% of the market for alternatives in the US, and the egg shortage has brought about a windfall for Eat Just’s mung bean innovation. In January alone, Just Egg’s sales grew five times faster than in the past year, while 56% of shoppers returned to buy more (a three-point increase from 2024). Most shoppers (91%) putting it in their basket, meanwhile, are neither vegan nor vegetarian.

“We have some of the largest chains in the country reaching out to us – on the foodservice side, the convenience store side – saying they don’t know when this is going to end, and they want to bring in something that’s more reliable and more permanent, i.e., what we’re doing,” Tetrick said. “This is a real moment in time for the plant-based industry to prove that it’s up to the challenge.”

VFG CEO Dave Sparrow echoed this sentiment following its link-up with Eat Just. “Our partnership with Eat Just marks a significant milestone, aligning perfectly with our ambition to transform plant-based food across Europe,” he said, as reported by the Grocer.

Just Egg to initially launch in the UK and GermanyCourtesy: Eat Just

The egg crisis isn’t just restricted to the US – in Europe, the cost of eggs has reached its highest in at least a decade, reaching €268.5 ($292) per 100kg last month. As people seek cheaper protein sources than meat, the demand for eggs continues to increase, even if supplies don’t.

“We will be targeting a competitive pricing structure in comparison to the animal-based category equivalent, whilst we will be comparable if not cheaper than the current vegan liquid egg market in Europe,” says Glover.

Europe’s plant-based egg market is set to grow by 40% annually to reach $3.88B in 2031, so the opportunity for disruptors like Eat Just is there. Here, it will compete with fellow vegan liquid egg producers Crackd (UK), Perfeggt (Germany) and Vegge (Italy).

That said, the industry isn’t without its challenges. British brand Oggs, known for its aquafaba, has marketed a liquid whole egg alternative, though it hasn’t been in stock in supermarkets for several months now. VFG’s Sparrow, though, is confident that Just Egg is up to the task. “There are other egg replacements on the market, but quality-wise, there’s nothing that can stack up against Eat Just,” he said.

“The UK and Germany are the immediate priority given our extensive distribution, which is already in place, and then we’ll roll out across other key markets,” reveals Glover, who says it’s too early to comment on the impact of the US’s tariff war.

“European consumers clearly desire innovative, sustainable food options, and collaborating with VFG is key to meeting that demand effectively,” added Tetrick.

Eat Just, which reformulated its mung bean egg to deliver greater flavour and functionality last year, will take solace in the success of fellow American plant-based giant Beyond Meat, which entered the European market in 2018. While the vegan burger maker has had a tough couple of years, its foodservice partnerships in Europe have been a constant bright spot; for example, Beyond Meat is on multiple McDonald’s menus across the continent.

Meanwhile, another US plant-based pioneer, Impossible Foods, is hoping to bring its ‘bleeding’ burger to Europe soon, having cleared key food safety assessments last year. It will now undergo a public consultation period before seeking final approval from the EU Commission and its member states.

This story was updated to include comments from Vegan Food Group’s Matthew Glover.

 

Originally posted by: www.greenqueen.com/hk