Onego Bio Brings Animal-Free Egg Protein to Breakfast Category with Zen Waffles
Finnish precision fermentation startup Onego Bio has struck a deal to supply its animal-free egg white protein to New York-based Zen Waffles as it eyes the high-protein breakfast space.
Onego Bio, a Finnish food tech startup known for its chicken-free egg protein, has partnered with Zen Waffles to supercharge the protein-rich breakfast category in the US.
The former uses precision fermentation – a process that involves inserting DNA into microbes to teach them to produce specific molecules when fermented – to make Bioalbumen, a recombinant version of the main protein found in eggs.
The powdered ingredient will help Brooklyn-based Zen Waffles better navigate the volatility of the egg market and reach more Americans with its high-protein products.
How Onego Bio’s egg protein can boost waffles
Onego Bio, which spun out of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, uses a fungal strain called Trichoderma reesei to produce a bioidentical version of ovalbumin, which makes up 54% of the protein content in egg whites.
It introduces the genetic blueprint of ovalbumin to the cells of the microbes, which are fed on sugar. Depending on the stage of the production process, they’re either starved with little food or allowed to “gorge on glucose” – once they consume plenty of glucose and are then starved of it, they start sweating proteins.
These proteins are then filtered out and dried into a shelf-stable powder. The process requires 95% less land and 97% less water compared to conventional eggs, and generates 89% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Bioalbumen is a complete protein with an amino acid sequence identical to its chicken-derived counterpart and the highest PDCAAS score of 1.0. It has a two-year-long shelf life and can replace egg white protein powder or liquid egg alternatives in most applications, while delivering the same functional, nutritional, and sensory performance.
These include snacks, nutrition products, protein-rich foods, and baked goods, such as waffles. “In a waffle, egg protein does a lot of work: it provides structure for a light, tender interior and supports browning for a golden, crisp exterior, all while delivering high-quality protein,” explained Maija Itkonen, co-founder and CEO of Onego Bio.
“Bioalbumen brings that multifunctionality together, giving food manufacturers a new way to meet growing demand for protein. Zen Waffles has built a brand with incredible customer loyalty by showing that high-protein foods can be both nutritious and delicious, and we’re thrilled to partner with them as they continue to grow nationwide,” she added.
Precision fermentation offers stability amid egg crisis
For Zen Waffles, Onego Bio’s animal-free egg protein is an off-ramp from the egg crisis. Chicken eggs have faced shortages and rising prices in the US (in some states, a single egg set Americans back $1 over the last couple of years), making solutions like Bioalbumen all the more urgent.
Onego Bio last year received a ‘no questions’ letter from the US Food and Drug Administration, which concluded that its precision-fermented egg white protein is Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for use in a wide variety of applications.
That was followed by a partnership with Sigma Foods, the Mexican food conglomerate that operates more than 100 brands in 17 countries, which is now developing product prototypes with Bioalbumen.
The new collaboration comes as demand for protein-rich foods remains unstoppable. Sales of high-protein packaged foods and baked goods grew by 25% and 46%, respectively, between 2021 and 2025, when 44% of Americans said they focus on protein during breakfast. And this year, nearly three in five (57%) Americans are planning to prioritise protein.
“Our goal is to make high-protein foods convenient and delicious. Bioalbumen offers a great source of high-quality protein, helping us make products consumers already love nutritious and satisfying,” said Zen Waffles co-founder Eugene Komissarov. “We’re excited to partner with Onego Bio as we continue to grow Zen Waffles and reach more customers across the country.”
To tackle the egg crisis, many plant-based and fermentation startups have come up with alternatives, but aside from Onego Bio, only The Every Company has been approved to sell precision-fermented egg white proteins in the US.
The two have been locked in a bitter legal battle over IP, with the latter asking a Delaware court to sanction the former for “improper duplicative litigation”, after an identical case was thrown out in Wisconsin. (The Delaware dispute is ongoing.)