Following the recent close of a US $5 million seed round, plant-based egg startup Yo! Egg is set to launch the world’s first plant-based, sunny-side-up and poached egg in restaurants across the US. Restaurants and distributors will have the first opportunity to try the innovative Yo! Egg range at the National Restaurant Association trade show in Chicago from May 21st to 24th.
Yo! Egg’s products bring a “whole egg” experience, complete with a perfect egg white and runny yolk, for consumers who love the taste and texture of eggs but who would prefer a more sustainable and cholesterol-free option. With 1 in 6 consumers eating more than half their meals plant-based, and countless diners choosing where to eat based on the dietary preferences of the people they share their meals with, Yo! Egg is a strategic addition to any restaurant’s menu.
Investors are also keen on the opportunity. The company’s oversubscribed seed round was led by food tech focused venture capital firm Stray Dog Capital and NFX, the renowned Tech investor, for whom this marks a first investment in a food tech company. Surround Ventures and Secret Chord Ventures also participated in the round. Yo! Egg is using the capital to scale production and propel its launch into the American market.
Stray Dog Capital Partner Johnny Ream said of the company, “with over 95 billion eggs consumed every year in the US, and each egg requiring 53 gallons of water to produce, we need a better solution. Yo! Egg has developed one of the most impressive plant-based products we have seen to date, and we believe both the product and scaling innovation the company is pursuing will give them the potential to drive significant growth and impact.”
“With hundreds of millions of people across the world demanding plant-alternatives for their favorite proteins, Yo! Egg’s first-of-its-kind eggs will be a hit in restaurants nationwide,” explained Gigi Levy-Weiss, General Partner at NFX. “I am confident in Eran, Yosefa, Nisim and the team they have built to transform the $200 billion egg market.”
Yo! Egg plans to transform the egg industry, sans chickens. The company sees a huge opportunity for positive change by offering a new generation of plant-based eggs that fully deliver from a sensory perspective. According to company CEO Eran Groner, “The Yo! Egg team has a unique mix of extraordinary product innovation expertise and engineering talent that we believe will help our company revolutionize the way the world produces and consumes eggs.”
Following the company’s US debut at the National Restaurant Association show in May, consumers can expect to see these prized runny yolks on menus in the Greater Los Angeles area by the end of this year. Yo! Egg will serve their groundbreaking eggs to National Restaurant Association show visitors at booth 1084 and welcome meetings with distributors and foodservice operators who want to be among the first to carry the products.
About Yo! Egg
Yo! Egg is on a mission to become the world’s largest and most sustainable egg producer, without the use of chickens. Starting with sunny-side-up and poached eggs, the company is pioneering plant-based versions of eggs for every culinary application. The company was founded by Yosefa Ben-Cohen, an accredited vegan chef with ten years experience in developing plant based products, Nisim Ben-Cohen, a decade long experienced foodservice operator and entrepreneur and Eran Groner, a seasoned food-tech executive with more than a decade of experience in agricultural and food technologies spanning factory farming and cultured meat production. The company is based in Israel with a fast growing U.S. presence. Learn more at www.yo-egg.com.
