Evo Foods, a consumer packaged goods company creating the next generation of plant-based substitutes for animal products, and Ginkgo Bioworks, the leading horizontal platform for cell programming, announced a partnership to develop a method for producing animal-free egg proteins for use in Evo’s products.
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Facing increasing consumer demand for animal-free food alternatives, companies throughout the food industry are searching for optimal animal protein replacements that can seamlessly supplement consumer tastes. Current egg substitutes have limitations in their ability to replicate the texture, taste, cooking properties and nutritional profile of eggs. Evo started in 2020 with the mission to end animal agriculture by creating superior substitutes for animal-derived products by leveraging India’s crop biodiversity, starting with the launch of several animal-free egg substitute products. The company recently showcased its products in the U.S. for the first time in San Francisco on April 27, 2022. By collaborating with Ginkgo, Evo intends to create next generation egg substitutes with vastly improved properties.
“As consumers and food brands alike call for more sustainable food options, we are excited to collaborate with Ginkgo to pioneer a new class of animal-free ingredients,” said Kartik Dixit, CEO, Evo Foods. “Evo is committed to playing a part in feeding our ever-growing world, and this partnership will support us as we develop next-generation products in this market.”
“Ginkgo is always looking for new ways to help developers solve massive societal challenges through the use of biology, and partnering with Evo Foods to create more sustainable food ingredients is the perfect opportunity,” said Jason Kelly, CEO and cofounder, Ginkgo Bioworks. “We’re excited to help Evo make delicious food ingredients sustainably.”
Evo Foods is using Ginkgo’s Cell Development Kits (CDKs) for this work. CDKs are designed to cut the cost of launching a cell program and speed up development timelines to build engineered proteins or microbes. The service is also designed to enable customers to prototype their idea in modules, with each module potentially providing data that can inform the customer’s project and business strategy.