Move over, fake meat and oat milk—egg substitutes are looking to grab some of the plant-based food spotlight.
Though it’s niche, making up a tiny portion of overall plant-based protein sales—dominated by the fake burger brands that have been sparring for primacy—the faux egg category is growing by triple-digit percentages, spurred by baking binges and home-cooked meals during the pandemic, coupled with notable shifts in consumer preferences and buying habits.
The leading brand in the space, Just Egg, has announced new deals that will increase its retail distribution by 40%, adding Walmart, Albertsons, Kroger and other chains to a footprint that will soon stretch across 17,000 stores.
The company also launched a partnership with Yelp recently to boost local diners, created its first connected TV campaign and linked with TikTok star Tabitha Brown and other influencers.
This comes on the heels of a study Just Egg commissioned from OnePoll that found more than half of consumers said they’re eating fewer animal products since the Covid-19 outbreak, and nearly 6 in 10 are transitioning to a more flexitarian diet, citing health as their top reason for making the change.
“The data validated some things we already knew,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of the startup, whose mung bean-based products began hitting shelves in 2018. “But the consumer mindset is changing even faster than we’d anticipated.”
Gains during lockdown
The brand, after a regional test, will expand to 1,900 Walmart stores by the end of the month. Additional deals for its frozen and refrigerated products will make it available in 1,000 Kroger locations, including Ralphs and Fred Meyer, along with chains like Food Lion, Giant, Jewel-Osco, Randalls and Acme.
“We’re covering almost every part of the U.S. now,” Tetrick said. “We’re building a business that’s looking to reach more people and have more of an impact.”
Just Egg, so dominant it has a nearly 99% market share, has seen its retail sales skyrocket, with more than 100% sales bumps at some mass market outlets between February and July. Its case shipments to retailers are up 170% for the same period and 330% in August, compared to the previous year, the company said.
The egg substitute category makes up only a sliver of plant-based food sales that are dominated by burgers and non-dairy drinks like oat milk. By comparison, plant-based dairy logged $2 billion in 2019 sales, and meatless meat earned $939 million. Faux eggs, with $10 million in sales, is the smallest plant-based category, according to the Good Food Institute, but it grew in dollar sales by 228% between 2017 and 2019 and jumped another 192% in 2019.
Access is key
Breakfast has been a battleground in general and for plant-based meat in particular, with faux sausage and sandwiches dominating the 2020 food headlines (2019 was the year of the meatless burger). Egg substitutes are likely to benefit from the current momentum, said Kyle Gaan, research analyst at GFI.
Just Egg, in its liquid form, sells in refrigerated cases next to real eggs, boosting its visibility, he said. (The brand’s new frozen product, a ready-to-heat “folded” egg similar to an omelet, debuted in April and sits next to waffles and sausage in freezer cases.)
“When consumers don’t have to go to a different section of the store, that’s when plant-based products take off,” Gaan said. “Shoppers need to see it right next to the established animal products.”
As part of its late-summer promotional push, Just Egg launched a digital ad campaign on YouTube, Instagram, Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Playstation, Tubings, Pluto TV and other platforms. The work, created in-house, touts the versatility of its products as ingredients in dishes like pad Thai, French toast and quiche.
Promotional egg-stravaganza
The brand also has released new marketing and media for September, known as Better Breakfast Month, citing the OnePoll study results that found many people are eating plant-based food as the first meal of the day and searching for high-protein, low-sugar options.
Its Yelp alliance has given away product, digital assets and point-of-sale materials to 100 mom-and-pop restaurants identified by reviewers as having standout breakfast sandwiches and omelets. Places like City Cafe in Denver, Christie’s Deli in Philadelphia and Bandit in San Francisco will now serve the egg substitute.
The move comes after Just Egg has built up a roster of more than 500 independent eateries, including Gregorys Coffee in New York City, where the brand is the top breakfast item chain-wide, outselling animal eggs and making up 40% of all breakfast sandwich sales, according to GFI.
The brand recruited micro influencers—onegreatvegan, noshandnourish and beetsbybrooke among them—for social media posts that tout plant-based eating, adding to its original content arsenal of education, tutorials and tips from its in-house chefs. Just Egg has had an unexpected, and organic, bump from pop star Lizzo, who has generated big engagement numbers recently for sharing its recipes:
