585 Tesco Stores Now Carry the World’s First Vegan Scotch Egg

United Kingdom-based vegan brand Squeaky Bean has debuted ready-to-eat vegan scotch eggs in nearly 600 Tesco stores. A traditional British scotch egg is a boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs, and baked or deep-fried. For Squeaky Bean’s vegan scotch egg, the company partnered with UK brand Crackd—which produces liquid plant-based egg replacement The No-Egg Egg—for the filling, which is wrapped in Squeaky Bean’s vegan sausage meat. The new product retails for £3 (US $4.25) for a pack of six scotch eggs.

“You might have thought plant-based food lovers have it all now that vegan versions exist of many meat and fish products, from chargrilled chicken-style pieces to fishless fingers,” Squeaky Bean creator and brand manager Sarah Augustine said. “Yet alternatives to products containing egg are harder to find.”

Supermarket chain Tesco says it started carrying the vegan egg to give its customers an opportunity to enjoy more plant-based options. “The summer range from Squeaky Bean allows plant-based food lovers delicious options with no compromise,” Tesco Buying Manager Daniel Bentley said. “Including a supermarket first—the vegan Scotch Egg—we’re really raising expectations of plant-based food and ensuring our customers have access to the snacks they want.” Tesco is also carrying Squeaky Bean’s other summer offerings, which include Tomato, Red Pepper & Veta Tart; Creamy Coronation Tart; and Chargrilled Memphis Style BBQ Mini Fillets.

Innovation in vegan eggs

In recent months, innovative vegan egg products are hitting the shelves in the UK and worldwide. Last month, Singapore-based vegan food manufacturer OsomeFood launched a whole vegan hard-boiled egg. The realistic-looking OsomeEgg is made from a fungal protein called mycoprotein—an ingredient that contains many of the essential amino acids found in animal protein—along with carrot juice, almond milk, potato starch, olive oil, wakame, black salt, and nutritional yeast. 

Stateside, California-based food technology company Eat Just offers its JUST Egg 12-ounce liquid vegan eggs made from mung beans in addition to its newer pre-baked folded format of JUST Egg—which, according to the company, quickly became the number one selling frozen breakfast item at a top-five US supermarket.