Onego Bio: hatching a new future for the $113bn egg industry
The egg market is on the brink of disruption thanks to Onego Bio, the growing startup producing animal-free bio-identical egg white protein.
Rethinking the sustainability of global egg production
Eggs are a food staple across the world. Approximately 10kg of eggs are consumed per person globally each year. In 2020, there were 7.9 billion laying hens globally, producing 1.6 trillion eggs. European Union account for around 7.3% of global egg production. [1]
Animal welfare and environmental impacts are the biggest concerns in the egg production industry. Much of global egg production still relies on intensive systems such as battery cages. Major resource use on farms comes from feed production, manure emissions, land use, water use and on-farm energy. [2] Egg production has a carbon impact of around 2.7 kg CO₂eq per dozen eggs, a similar impact to milk, but lower than meats such as veal, pork or lamb. [2] While egg transportation also contributes to emissions, the majority of the environmental impact comes from the production phase.
A breakthrough in animal-free protein
Harnessing the power of precision fermentation, Onego Bio has become the first company in the world to create a biologically identical animal-free egg protein. Finnish startup Onego Bio was founded in 2022 by alternative protein pioneer Maija Itkonen (CEO) and cell agriculture trailblazer Christopher Landowski (CTO). [3] They produce ovalbumin, a protein that makes up 65% of egg white, that can be used in the same way as egg white in recipes, including foaming, gelling, binding and leavening. This is ovalbumin with the same functionality and nutrition as egg white, while significantly reducing environmental, ethical and food-safety concerns.
Bioalbumen® is the first product of its kind using the patented Trichoderma reesei fungus in precision fermentation. Onego Bio have targeted their product for the food industry, and have plans to launch products for the consumer-market, for household baking and cooking. Their current focus is on scaling their precision fermentation operation to industrial scale. The product has received a ‘no-questions’ response from the US FDA under the Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS) framework. [4]
Onego Bio is a spin-off of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and now operates from Helsinki and San Diego. In 2024 they completed a $65 million Series A funding round, including €14 million from the European Innovation Council (EIC), one of the largest A-rounds in the Nordics. [5]
What impact can precision fermentation deliver?
In comparison with chicken eggs, Onego Bio’s product Bioalbumen® has the potential to reduce carbon output by 90%. [6] Assessments suggest that precision-fermented egg proteins can use up to 95% less land and 72% less water. A single Onego full-scale manufacturing unit boasts a two-million-litre fermentation capacity, effectively replacing an egg farm with six million laying hens. [7] A fermentation-based process also offers greater price stability by removing fluctuation from production from feed costs, disease outbreaks and seasonal volatility.
They have also established a circular production line, utilising agricultural waste as feedstock and sending left over biomass to partners to make leather alternatives, packing materials and pet food.
As a 100% animal-free protein, Bioalbumen® improves food safety by eliminating exposure to antibiotics and bird flu risks. Onego Bio works with more than 25 major food companies to incorporate Bioalbumen® into baked goods, confectionery, snacks, sauces, pasta and meat alternatives, supporting a more resilient food system.
Impact at a glance
Accelerating protein diversification in Europe
They are part of the EIT Food Protein Diversification Think Tank, which aims to accelerate innovation in protein technologies across Europe.
One of EIT Food’s RisingFoodStars, Onego Bio were selected based on their potential to scale solutions that address the long-term sustainability of food and agriculture across Europe. They benefit from the EIT Food network consisting of industry experts and leaders, research institutions and investors.
EIT Food has directly invested €1.5M in Onego Bio, in recognition of its potential to contribute to a healthier, more sustainable and resilient food system.
The support from EIT Food demonstrates the potential of innovations like Bioalbumen® to build a more sustainable system and shows that the EU recognises precision fermentation as a solution to address sustainability issues and enhance food security in Europe and worldwide
What others can learn from Onego Bio’s journey
- Use regulation as a growth lever, not a barrier: Onego Bio advanced faster by prioritising markets with more enabling regulatory pathways.
- Embed yourself in your innovation ecosystem: by actively contributing to industry think tanks and having extensive experience in the field, Onego Bio’s leadership helped shape the protein diversification agenda while positioning the company as a pioneer in the field.
- Anchor innovation in real societal needs: addressing sustainability, supply-chain resilience and animal welfare made Onego Bio’s technology immediately relevant to global food system challenges.
The road to industrial-scale transformation
Recent funding has been directed towards North American go-to-market strategy, including scaling up to industrial-level production and expanding its US commercial team.
At their 25-acre innovation campus in Wisconsin they plan to produce their egg-white flagship product at an output equivalent of 6 million laying hens. [8]
By launching first in North America, Onego Bio is leveraging a regulatory landscape that enables faster market entry and early commercial scale.
Learn about the latest opportunities, research and innovations shaping the food industry.
References
- Compassion in World Farming: Info Sheet 1 - Egg Production - Global
- Science of the Total Environment: Optimization of environmental and energy performance of egg production using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA)
- Onego Bio: Onego Bio secures new funding
- Food Navigator USA: Research reveals the environmental footprint of the egg industry
- New Tech Foods: Onego Bio secures €14M in funding for Precision Fermentation
- Nature Food: Ovalbumin production using Trichoderma reesei culture and low-carbon energy could mitigate the environmental impacts of chicken-egg-derived ovalbumin
- EIT Food: RisingFoodStar Onego Bio raises $40M to scale up animal-free egg production
- Food Navigator USA: FDA greenlights Onego Bio’s bio-identical egg white protein that could ease supply constraints and volatile prices
