Make egg-white protein without hens. Egg prices swing with bird flu outbreaks and feed costs; a fermented, identical protein gives food makers a steady supply with a far smaller footprint.
PilotStage 3 of 5
FDA cleared it as safe in Sept 2025; food-maker trials under way, big Wisconsin plant due 2028.
Updated 5 May 2026·Checked 11 Oct·0 updates this week
Milestones
Next · Wisconsin manufacturing plant online
Spun out of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland2022Complete.
$40M Series AApr 2024Complete.
Wisconsin plant site acquired (25.9 acres)2025Complete.
FDA 'no questions' letter on GRAS status (GRN 1249)Sep 2025Complete.
No large plant yetUntil the Wisconsin plant opens in 2028, volumes are limited and cost per kilo stays high.
Patent disputeOnego's suit against The Every Company over its ovalbumin patent was dismissed in Wisconsin; a Delaware case is pending.
Physics limits
Output per tank sets the priceFermentation tanks are costly sterile steel, and a microbe spends much of its sugar on growing itself. Grams of protein per litre per day decide whether it can match the price of eggs.
One protein, not a whole eggEgg white is a mix of several proteins; one fermented protein reproduces many but not all of its behaviours, so some recipes need adjusting.
How it works
4 parts
Program
A fungus learns to make egg white
The gene for ovalbumin is put into Trichoderma reesei, a fungus long used to make enzymes at industrial scale.
Brew
Fermentation on sugar
The fungus grows in large tanks and produces the protein, much as a brewery makes beer, with no animals involved.
Purify
Separated and dried
The protein is separated from the broth and dried into a shelf-stable powder.
Use
Works like egg white
FDA-cleared uses include baked goods, pasta, drinks and desserts, for foaming, gelling and binding.
Animal-free egg-white protein by precision fermentation
Finnish-US company, spun out of Finland's VTT research centre, that makes Bioalbumen, an egg-white protein identical to the one hens make, using a fungus in fermentation tanks.
FDA 'no questions' letter on Bioalbumen's safety (GRAS) in Sept 2025.
Bought a Jefferson County, Wisconsin site for a plant due online in 2028.
Raised a $40M Series A in 2024 (led by NordicNinja); $56M total then.
