If you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs — unless you use JUST Egg.
Today JUST, makers of plant-based food products that include mayo and cookie dough, announced it will launch its vegan JUST Egg in Sprouts nationally this month and Whole Foods nationally in April. JUST Egg first debuted in retailers in the Midwest, expanded to Albertsons nationwide last month and is currently available at a number of local grocery chains and natural grocers.
The pale yellow liquid, made of mung beans, comes in a bottle and scrambles pretty darn similarly to eggs. The suggested retail price is $7.99, which is a lot pricier than a carton of eggs, even free range/organic ones.
But JUST Egg can likely get away with its higher price since it’s the first product of its kind. For vegans, there’s an obvious draw: nothing else out there scrambles like eggs. For flexitarians, there’s the appeal of the new.
While JUST may be continuing its march into retail, I think its real potential could be in QSRs and large-scale food operations, like corporate cafeterias, hospitals, airlines, and sports stadiums. So far, JUST Egg is available in the fast-casual chain Veggie Grill, and here and there at individual restaurants. But there’s room for a lot more growth, especially in places like school cafeterias.
Consumers are looking for more convenient flexitarian options — as we’ve seen from the success of Impossible’s sliders at White Castle and Beyond’s burgers at Carl’s Jr. — and JUST Egg would fit the bill nicely. Their eggless patties (not available in retail) are practically begging to be slipped into a breakfast sandwich that college kids (because you know millennials/Gen Z love to eat flexitarian) could grab at the cafeteria on their way to History 101, for example. [Update: JUST Egg is currrently available at UIUC, UC Berkeley, Michigan State and a few other universities.]
In addition to the U.S., JUST’s eggless scramble is now available in Hong Kong and China, and has partnered with Eurovo to bring the product to Europe. I have no doubt we’ll hear a lot more news about JUST expanding the availablility of its vegan egg in the months to come, in retail and out.
Leave a Reply