Greenforce Poaches Vegan Egg Maker Neggst Ahead of Acquisition by Livekindly Collective
German plant-based food producer Greenforce has acquired vegan egg startup Neggst, a deal linked to the former’s impending takeover by Livekindly Collective.
As it navigates the regulatory nod for its integration into US holding company Livekindly Collective, German plant-based company Greenforce has itself acquired Berlin-based Neggst.
The latter is known for its vegan egg products, and its sale by Green Generation Fund and other shareholders was first referenced by law firm Clifford Chance in July. This came days after Livekindly Collective announced it has signed a deal to snap up Greenforce.
Neggst co-founder and CEO Verónica García-Arteaga confirmed the transaction this week, indicating that she was exiting the company post-takeover.
The deal will eventually fold Neggst into the wider Livekindly Collective family, where its portfolio of vegan egg products is set to complement the company’s other plant-based brands.
Neggst sale connected to investment in Greenforce
Founded in 2021, Neggst is built on research conducted by García-Arteaga during her time at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging in Germany.
The company leverages a base of fava beans, yellow peas, and sweet potatoes to produce egg whites, yolks and encapsulation components, which together make up finished products like vegan poached and scrambled eggs, as well as egg bites and patties (it previously sold sunny-side-ups too).
Neggst holds European patents spanning its egg white, yolk, shell, poached egg and liquid mixed egg formulations, and its products are sold through the foodservice channel in Germany, France, and Spain.
It has raised €7M ($7.8M) in venture funding to date, alongside a loan grant from ZIM and a loan from Rentenbank. According to Clifford Chance, its sale was carried out in connection with an investment made by its shareholders in Greenforce.
In a LinkedIn post, García-Arteaga thanked Neggst’s investors and advisors for backing her and the company’s mission, as well as its customers, co-manufacturers and partners for their trust and feedback on its products.
Acquisition part of wider consolidation trend
Neggst will now gain access to Livekindly’s industrial manufacturing capacity and global distribution network, once the latter’s takeover of Greenforce becomes official.
“From our strongest position so far, together with our investors, we chose the wiser route for the product,” García-Arteaga said in a LinkedIn post. “Neggst is now part of Greenforce, which brings a strong distribution network and a portfolio our products complete.”
Egg alternatives are still a tiny part of Europe’s plant-based category, with only a handful of players in this space, including Eat Just, The Bridge, and Le Papondu. But the time is ripe for these products, given the volatility of the egg market. Avian flu and Newcastle disease have led to widespread shortages amid a sharp rise in demand, causing egg prices in Europe to hit a decade-long high last year.
Moreover, no European country buys more plant-based alternatives than Germany. In 2025, sales of this category surpassed €1.7B (a 3% year-on-year hike). Greenforce itself sells plant-based eggs, alongside meat and cheese alternatives, and its portfolio is now strengthened with the purchase of Neggst.
Livekindly Collective, which also owns plant-based meat brands Oumph, Like and Fry’s (among others), has been on an M&A spree in recent years, a strategy that enabled it to achieve its first month of profitability in September 2025. The holding company has projected a further 200% uptick this year.
It is prioritising profitable growth as it continues its acquisition model, contributing to an alternative protein consolidation wave that has seen more than 90 companies be acquired, merge, fall into insolvency, or shut down since September 2024.