Perfeggt Secures Funding for Plant-Based Egg Alternative

Plant-Based Egg Alternative: Perfeggt Secures Seed Funding

Globally, the demand for plant-based substitutes for products like dairy and meat is experiencing significant growth. Perfeggt aims to replicate this success within the egg category.

The foodtech company, based in Berlin, is preparing to launch its egg alternative – created without the use of chickens – during the first quarter of 2022. Initial distribution will be focused on Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

Today, Perfeggt announced the completion of a $2.8 million seed funding round. These funds will support the initial product launch and subsequent expansion throughout Europe later in the year.

Investment Details

The funding round saw participation from several key investors, including EVIG Group, Stray Dog Capital, E2JDJ, Tet Ventures, Good Seed Ventures, Sustainable Food Ventures, and Shio Capital.

Perfeggt’s CEO, Tanja Bogumil, co-founded the company – operating as part of Lovely Day Foods GmbH – earlier this year. She collaborated with Gary Lin, a co-founder of EVIG, and Bernd Becker, formerly the long-standing head of Research & Development at Rügenwalder Mühle, a prominent German producer of vegetarian and vegan meat products.

“I firmly believe that consumers deserve higher quality food options,” Bogumil stated in an interview with TechCrunch. “Growing up with a family background in small-scale agriculture instilled in me a constant awareness of the origins of our food.”

She became a vegetarian at the age of twelve after witnessing the realities of a slaughterhouse, prompting a reevaluation of her food choices. This experience highlighted concerns about ethical and humane practices.

Addressing an Untapped Market

Bogumil identifies a gap in the sustainability efforts surrounding egg production, unlike the progress made in the dairy sector. While companies like Simply Eggless and Just Eat are developing similar plant-based alternatives, the global egg market remains substantial.

Over 1.3 trillion eggs are produced worldwide annually, indicating significant potential for growth and diverse applications, according to Bogumil.

Perfeggt’s initial product is a liquid egg alternative, rich in protein and formulated from fava beans. It is designed to be cooked as a scrambled egg or omelet. The company will initially focus on partnerships with food service organizations.

Taste is paramount in food development, and the Perfeggt team prioritized replicating the mouthfeel, sensory experience, flavors, and textures of conventional eggs to encourage consumer adoption.

“Considerable effort was dedicated to achieving this,” Bogumil explained. “Our formulation centers around the fava bean, which possesses characteristics well-suited to mimicking the functional properties required in egg-based applications.”

Research and Development

Perfeggt’s R&D facility, located in Emsland, Germany, collaborates closely with Wageningen University & Research. This partnership leverages the university’s expertise in life sciences to evaluate various plant-based protein sources and combinations.

The goal is to identify formulations that closely match the nutritional and functional attributes of eggs.

The newly acquired funding will facilitate team expansion at both the company’s headquarters and R&D facility. Current hiring efforts are focused on recruiting food scientists, marketing professionals, and R&D specialists.

Bogumil anticipates that increased competition within the egg alternative space will ultimately benefit Perfeggt’s broader mission of promoting plant-based eating.

“This isn’t a market where a single company will dominate,” she asserted. “We are witnessing alternative proteins move closer to mainstream acceptance than ever before. This trend is clearly reflected in investment activity, extending beyond niche markets to encompass the future of food.”

Stephanie Dorsey, founding partner at E2JDJ, commented, “We are incredibly impressed by the team’s rapid technological progress in developing next-generation alternative proteins and finding solutions that improve human, planetary and animal health.”

Dorsey added, “The egg market presents a substantial opportunity, and this is only the beginning.”