UK Brand Develops Vegan Egg to Avoid Getting “Left Behind”

Ingredient developer Ulrick & Short recently debuted vegan egg replacer ovaprox V, a vegan egg replacer that can be used by bakery companies in recipes for muffins, cakes, and waffles. The company developed ovaprox V to capitalize on the growing global vegan industry. “In the past five years, veganism as a lifestyle has become a mainstream trend,” Adrian Short, a director at Ulrick & Short, told BakeryandSnacks. “It is a great opportunity for food manufacturers to discover innovative ingredients and textures. The bakery industry needs to capitalize on this trend, otherwise, they will get left behind.” Short explained that an added benefit to companies switching to using vegan egg replacers, such as ovaprox V, is avoiding fluctuations in the prices of eggs brought on by factors such as the bird influenza and contaminants used by the egg industry such as toxic insecticide Fipronil. In recent years, vegan egg replacers—an industry predicted to be worth $1.6 billion by 2028—have become popular with consumers, including mung bean-based JUST Egg, which outsold animal-based liquid Egg Beaters at one major retailer last year after only one week on the shelves.