Plant-Based Egg Leader Debuts New Frozen Breakfast Meal Range Amidst Focus On Profitability

Eat Just Inc has launched new ready-to-eat frozen meals made with its popular plant-based folded egg, partnering with cult condiment brand Fly By Jing on the first flavor.

Eat Just’s plant-based egg division, JUST Egg™, has debuted a new line of frozen breakfast ready meals dubbed JUST Egg Meals featuring vegetables mixed with bites of its JUST Egg folded products in what the company describes as “only fully plant-based breakfast options available at major retailers”. The range will roll out at Whole Foods Market stores across the country this month, followed by a wide selection of other retailers over the next months.

“Developing innovative and delicious new ways to eat JUST Egg is at the core of what our team does every day, and I’m immensely proud of this new product because it gives people a simple and quick way to enjoy a wholesome and flavorful plant-based meal to start the day,” said Chef Nate Park, JUST Egg’s director of product development.

The range’s first flavor, Chili Crisp, features plant-based egg bites, sugar snap peas, roasted red pepper, and carrots mixed with the cult condiment Fly By Jing, a spicy Sichuan sauce made from chillies, fermented black beans and crispy shallots.

“We were thrilled to partner with Fly By Jing to add a bold, savory spice to the dish, which ties it all together,” added Park.

Convenient, high in protein and plant-based

JUST Egg Meals are sold in the freezer section and are priced at $7.99-$8.99. The company says the meals are convenient and simple to require- according to a statement: “simply toss it in a skillet straight from the freezer”.

Each meal offers 9 grams of protein which primarily comes from mung beans, just like the company’s other plant-based egg products, and marketing materials point out this is higher than the average chicken egg per serve (around 6 grams of protein for a large-sized egg).

According to the company, the brand has achieved its highest-ever household penetration since launching four years ago and its JUST Egg Folded product, which came onto the market in 2020 grew 24% in dollar sales in 2022 and has one of the highest repeat purchase rates among consumers in the frozen breakfast meal set.

‘Plants don’t get the flu’

The US has been undergoing egg shortages after a series of deadly avian flu outbreaks. Faced with empty supermarket shelves or eggs on sale at record prices, consumers have been cutting back on chicken egg purchases and exploring alternatives such as Eat Just’s liquid and folded products made from mung beans, which are sold nationwide.

The company went on a marketing spree, taking out an ad in the New York Times with the cheeky slogan “plant don’t get the flu” and taking over digital ad space at 800+ EV charging stations outside major supermarkets.

“We’ve reminded consumers and customers… that we’re available,” Matt Riley, Eat Just’s chief revenue officer told CNN. “Solving for crises like this is one of the primary motivations for us to exist.”

A focus on profitability

Last week, founder and CEO Josh Tetrick announced the company was shaving off close to 18% of its employees (about 40 staff members, most of them US-based). Tetrick said that despite record sales volume for their liquid and folded plant-based egg products, in part driven by the chicken egg shortages, Eat Just’s egg division is still not profitable and his 2023 focus was getting there. He said that other measures towards that goal included reducing ingredients costs and increasing production efficiency. “We should be at the place where it’s able to operate profitability without the need for any external capital,” Tetrick said.