Eat Just & Proterra Launch New Asia Subsidiary | JUST Egg

Eat Just, the company creating plant-based foods, is establishing a new Asian branch through a collaboration with Proterra Investment Partners Asia. This collaboration involves the construction of Eat Just’s initial manufacturing plant within Asia, and it will be located in Singapore.

Under the terms of the agreement, Proterra, specializing in agricultural technology investments, will contribute up to $100 million towards the facility, while Eat Just will invest $20 million. The newly formed subsidiary, Eat Just Asia, will concentrate on building a comprehensive supply network, collaborating with both manufacturers and distributors to support Eat Just’s primary product, the plant-based egg alternative Just Egg, which is crafted from mung beans.

Upon completion, the Singapore facility is projected to “produce thousands of metric tons of protein,” as stated in Eat Just’s official announcement. Eat Just Asia has also received backing from the Singaporean government’s Economic Development Board.

Beyond Just Egg, Eat Just and Proterra have indicated they are exploring opportunities to broaden their partnership to encompass the development of cultivated meat – genuine meat produced directly from cells, rather than through traditional animal agriculture.

Eat Just’s existing distribution network in Asia includes SPC Samlip in South Korea, Betagro in Thailand, and a currently unnamed partner in China, where Just Egg is presently offered on Alibaba’s Tmall and JD.com platforms.

Headquartered in San Francisco and previously operating as Hampton Creek, Eat Just has secured over $300 million in funding and is currently valued at $1.2 billion, according to Andrew Noyes, who leads Global Communications at Eat Just. Notable investors include Khosla Ventures and Li Ka-Shing.

Eat Just revealed in March its intention to prioritize international growth throughout the year, forging partnerships across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.

In subsequent months, the company announced a series of distribution agreements for Just Egg, including collaborations with Michael Foods, an American food manufacturer and distributor and a subsidiary of Post Holdings, and Emsland Group, a European producer of plant-based foods.

Demand for plant-based protein sources in Asia experienced growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, partly driven by consumer concerns regarding the safety of meat and other animal-derived products. In an April 2020 report by Reuters, Eat Just reported a 30% increase in Just Egg sales on JD.com and Tmall since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

Other companies in the plant-based food sector targeting Asian markets include Impossible Foods, which secured $500 million in funding in March to facilitate expansion in Asia; Karana, a Singapore-based company creating meat alternatives from jackfruit; and Phuture Foods, based in Malaysia, which utilizes various plant sources to produce pork substitutes.

Editors’ Note: This article has been updated to reflect the potential development of cultured meat and to provide accurate funding and valuation details for Eat Just.