Vegan food startup’s egg substitute in Hong Kong, test market for Asian expansion – so how does it taste?
Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing is among the investors in Just, whose Just Scramble, made using mung beans, could be key to delivering cheap, nutritious food to world’s growing population, says its Silicon Valley co-founder Josh Tetrick; we give it a taste test
Your breakfast omelette might not be made with egg soon if a new, plant-based imitation created by US vegan startup Just takes off.
Made with mung beans, a cheap, protein-rich legume, Just Scramble is designed to imitate the flavour, texture and cooking properties of egg while boasting a lower environmental impact. Hong Kong’s own Li Ka-shing is a fan and has invested in the product.
Launching for the first time outside Just’s San Francisco base, the product was introduced to the menu at Hong Kong vegan restaurant and shop chain Green Common by Green Monday founder David Yeung and Just’s co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick last month.
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“There are seven billion people in the world and the way the food system works today [it] simply cannot sustain [them],” said Yeung as he announced his company’s partnership with Just, the Silicon Valley food maker known as Hampton Creek before it changed names at the beginning of this year.
“Plant-based is the biggest food trend for 2018 because more people are awakening to the fact we have to change. Most of the world’s population is concentrated in Asia. If we want to truly change the world, change needs to start here.”
With a lighter and less rubbery texture than egg, and a milder, slightly processed flavour that one colleague likened to soy, Scramble – a liquid mixture of mung bean protein, canola oil, water and salt – was a good egg analogue.
Social media reaction to Just Scramble