Germany’s Perfeggt has raised an initial funding round of $2.8 million for its egg alternative made from fava beans.
Investors in the round included EVIG Group, Stray Dog Capital, Good Seed Ventures, E2JDJ, Tet Ventures, and Shio Capital.
Perfeggt will use the proceeds of its first institutional round to commercially launch its product in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in early 2022, starting with select foodservice locations in the first quarter of 2022. A wider European expansion is set to follow in the near future.
Funding will also go towards the company building out an R&D facility and growing its team.
“We are offering a real alternative for one of the most popular animal proteins in the world,” co-founder and CEO Tanja Bogumil said in a statement.
“We’re more than convinced that it’s about time to rethink the egg as part of our daily diet with plant-based proteins and data-driven technology.”
US startup Eat Just’s mung bean-based egg alternative has been available in several major markets for some time, and recently arrived in the EU and Canada. Egg analogs from the likes of Float Foods, Simply Eggless, and others are also already available, or are expected to hit shelves soon.
Nevertheless, there is still a massive white-space opportunity for makers of plant-based egg products; more than 1.3 trillion chicken eggs are consumed annually worldwide – 110 billion of those in Europe alone.
Perfeggt’s liquid product can be pan-fried to resemble a scrambled egg or omelette, similarly to Eat Just’s JUST Egg.
Use cases aside, what’s arguably more crucial to get right in any egg analog is the taste.
“We are aware that taste and texture are key,” said Perfeggt co-founder and chief product officer Bernd Becker.
“That is why we are laser-focused on matching the right plant-based proteins and lipids that allow us to replicate the exceedingly complex multifunctional and versatile characteristics of an egg, and its indistinguishable taste.”
A veteran of the industry, Becker previously served a 25-year stint as head of R&D at Rügenwalder Mühle, which remains Germany’s market leader in vegetarian meat alternatives.
Plant-based ‘whole egg’ startup Float Foods scores seed funding from VCs, corporates – read more here
Perfeggt’s third co-founder, Gary Lin, is also founder and CEO at food-focused venture builder EVIG, which invested in the round.
“We believe that with scientific excellence and innovative technology, animal-based products can be easily eliminated from the menu, and Perfeggt is the result of exactly that,” Lin said.
“We expect Perfeggt to quickly gain significant market share and reach high, sustainable growth with continuous product innovation in the coming years.”
