Can Yeast Protein Solve The Egg Crisis? This Startup Is Betting On It

Dutch food tech startup Revyve is tripling its capacity to keep up with growing demand for its upcycled yeast protein, which can replace eggs in various applications.

As the food industry scrambles to find a solution to the egg crisis – particularly in the US – one startup is banking on beer waste.

Based in the Netherlands, Revyve makes a range of ingredients by upcycling yeast, the latest being an egg replacer derived from brewer’s yeast, a byproduct of the beer industry.

With egg prices at all-time highs, consumers, restaurants and food manufacturers have all been looking for more budget-friendly options. Many are turning to plant-based egg products like Just Egg, whose sales increased five times faster in January than in the past year.

Revyve is experiencing a similar effect. “We are seeing a lot of extra demand the last couple of months, which might come from the fact that our customers are seeing egg value-chain disruptions as a serious business risk,” CEO Cedric Verstraeten tells Green Queen.

It comes just two months after the startup signed an exclusive North American distribution deal with Lallemand Bio-Ingredients, paving the way for its yeast protein ingredients – including the egg replacer – to enter the US market.

A clean-label replacer for eggs and plant-based alternatives

In the US, average retail Grade A egg prices reached $4.95 per dozen last month, surpassing the previous high recorded in January 2023, according to consumer price index data released by the USDA. In some places, consumers and restaurants are paying up to $7 per egg, while wholesale prices of white-shell eggs now stand at $8 per dozen.

The avian flu that has resulted in this crisis is now in its third year, and has led to the culling of 160 million birds. And this has opened up a major opportunity for egg alternatives.

Revyve’s egg replacer isn’t a finished format that can be poured and scrambled in a pan (although its functionality can be a good fit within these products) – instead, it offers the same binding, foaming, gelling and emulsification properties that food manufacturers rely on chicken eggs for.

The powdered ingredient is intended as a clean-label alternative to additives like methylcellulose for use in products like meat analogues, sauces, appetisers and baked goods. The yeast protein allows Revyve to offer this functionality via a single ingredient, as opposed to the mix of ingredients and additives found in plant-based egg replacers.

Revyve to triple capacity in response to growing demand

To make the protein, Revyve utilises what is virtually an endless supply of yeast (given the sheer amount of beer produced annually), which is washed and micro-milled to separate functional proteins and fibres.

Upcycling a waste product allows the firm to lower the cost of its ingredient, which is critical if manufacturers are to embrace the yeast protein as an egg replacement.

Illustrating its efficacy, Verstraeten says: “Revyve offers a cost reduction of 20-25% in a final sauce recipe versus traditional recipes with eggs. However, it offers cost parity versus the use of liquid eggs in a traditional muffin recipe.”

The company is well-placed to capitalise on the egg crisis. “As our plant is operational, our ingredients can help formulate our egg ingredients in the short term, helping offset increasing prices,” he says. “Our ingredients cannot just substitute egg, they also bring other added values to brands such as clean-label, allergen-free claims and much lower CO2 impact.”

With more people on the hunt for alternatives, Revyve is gearing up to expand its operations. “We expect to triple production capacity this year, to try to keep up with the demand that we are seeing. We also expect to enter new countries as we see that demand is picking up globally,” notes Verstraeten.

New funding will fuel expansion amid egg crisis

In October, Revyve struck a deal with Daymer Ingredients to bring its ingredients to the UK, where avian flu has also induced several shortages. One of its most famous pub chains, Wetherspoons, is replacing eggs with hash browns in several breakfast dishes.

Across several other markets, from Europe and Russia to Japan, India and Brazil, egg prices have soared by 50-90% since 2019.

Encouragingly for Revyve, Europeans are showcasing an appetite for its yeast protein. According to a survey recently conducted by the startup, consumers in the UK and Germany are worried about eggs’ impact on cholesterol when consumed in excess, while those in France expressed concerns about egg allergies and their implications for dietary restrictions.

These consumers found yeast proteins to be a natural ingredient that’s rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals, and has various wellness benefits. That said, there was some scepticism about whether they’ll change the flavour of foods that traditionally use eggs, or if they can match or surpass the quality.

Revyve, for its part, says it has formulated its egg replacer to address exactly these concerns. And it has impressed many manufacturers, as can be evidenced by its growing customer base. “In 2024, our plant was not yet fully operational, so revenue was limited,” says Verstraeten. “We are now in the market with multiple customers and have +100 active customers in our sales funnel pipeline.”

The company has so far secured $20M from investors, but to fuel its capacity expansion and take on the chicken egg industry, it is currently finalising another fundraising round.

With commercial partnerships in multiple geographies, can the startup Revyve the struggling egg industry?