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In 2023, increased egg costs offered a possibility for different protein corporations to point out they may compete with conventional egg producers.
A yr later, costs have calmed down, however the flurry of exercise in creating extra sustainable egg merchandise continues to thrive. One place seeing a flurry of exercise is Onego Bio, a Finland-based food-biotech firm, which makes use of the fungus Trichoderma reesei and precision fermentation to create an animal-free egg white different referred to as Bioalbumen.
Maija Itkonen, co-founder and CEO of Onego Bio (pronounced on-eh-go), spun off the corporate with precision fermentation skilled Christopher Landowski from VTT (Technical Analysis Heart of Finland) in 2022.
Onego Bio co-founders Maija Itkonen and Christopher Landowski. Picture Credit: Onego Bio
Itkonen advised TechCrunch that the corporate’s patented fungal fermentation expertise course of permits it to supply 120 grams per liter in 250,000-liter fermentation vessels. At this capability, Onego Bio is near reaching aggressive worth factors to conventional methods of constructing egg proteins, she added.
Onego Bio claims Bioalbumen is “bioidentical” to ovalbumin, which is the main protein in hen egg white. It additionally incorporates all important amino acids and is high-protein: 90 grams per 100 grams of egg white. As well as, the corporate can produce it with a 90% smaller environmental footprint in comparison with eggs from chickens.
The corporate engineers Bioalbumen to have a clear, impartial taste that can be utilized to exchange eggs in a wide range of meals, baked items, snacks and sauces. The corporate plans to promote Bioalbumen to corporations that may then create the meals merchandise.
“What we do is completely different from, for instance, the methods different corporations are engaged on,” Itkonen mentioned. “The microorganism grows a little bit bit slower, however the productiveness is way, a lot increased. So it generates a much bigger yield, and the product is easy in that it doesn’t require specialised tools. All of it comes again to value as a result of so as to actually compete with animal merchandise, it must be on the similar worth.”
The corporate will launch first in North America. Itkonen expects Onego Bio to obtain self-affirmed GRAS (Typically Acknowledged as Secure) standing for Bioalbumen this yr and a no objections letter from the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration in 2025. It’ll then comply with that up with growth in Europe, South America and Asia.
In preparation for this, Onego Bio just lately secured $40 million in Collection A funding to get Bioalbumen to market and enhance manufacturing capabilities. Funds will go to develop the U.S. business group and can associate with co-manufacturers whereas finalizing its personal manufacturing facility. The corporate is nearing a single Onego full-scale manufacturing unit that boasts a 2 million-liter fermentation capability, which might successfully change an egg farm with 6 million laying hens, Itkonen mentioned.
Japanese-Nordic enterprise capital agency NordicNinja led the funding with participation from fairness buyers Tesi and EIT Meals, present buyers Agronomics, Maki.vc, Holdix and Turret and a bunch of strategic companions.
The spherical additionally features a $10 million non-dilutive funding from Enterprise Finland, a public group underneath the Finnish Authorities that helps innovation to speed up systemic change to assist clear up main world challenges. Itkonen touts that Onego Bio’s Collection A funding is “one of many largest A-rounds within the Nordics,” and brings the corporate’s complete funding to $56 million.
Tomosaku Sohara, managing associate of Nordic Ninja mentioned in an announcement: “Onego Bio is taking all the appropriate steps to commercialize in file time … with a transparent path to industrialization, go-to-market and profitability. In lower than two years, Onego is already working with main world meals corporations and is staged to disrupt the $330 billion egg market and create system stage change, accelerating the inexperienced transition.”
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