Eat Just Explained

Eat Just should not be confused with Just Eat.

Eat Just, Inc.
Type:Private
Industry:Food
Former Name:Beyond Eggs, Hampton Creek Foods, Inc.
Hq Location City:Alameda, California, United States
Key People:Josh Tetrick, CEO

Eat Just, Inc. is a private company headquartered in San Francisco, California, US. It develops and markets plant-based alternatives to conventionally produced egg products, as well as cultivated meat products. Eat Just was founded in 2011 by Josh Tetrick and Josh Balk. It raised about $120 million in early venture capital and became a unicorn in 2016 by surpassing a $1 billion valuation. It has been involved in several highly publicized disputes with traditional egg industry interests. In December 2020, its cultivated chicken meat became the first cultured meat to receive regulatory approval in Singapore. Shortly thereafter, Eat Just's cultured meat was sold to diners at the Singapore restaurant 1880, making it the "world's first commercial sale of cell-cultured meat".[1]

History

2011–2014

Eat Just Inc. was founded in 2011 under the name Beyond Eggs and then Hampton Creek Foods[2] by childhood friends Josh Balk and Josh Tetrick.[3] It started in Los Angeles, California, then moved to Tetrick's garage in San Francisco in 2012.[4] [5] At the time, the company had about 30 employees. Initially, it had $500,000[6] then $2 million in venture capital funding from Khosla Ventures.

Hampton Creek's first two years were spent in research and development.[7] It tested plant varieties in a lab in order to identify plant proteins with properties similar to chicken eggs,[8] [9] [10] such as gelling and emulsifying. Eat Just created an automated process for testing plants that was patented in 2016. Information like each plant's drought tolerance, taste, and any likely allergenic problems were compiled into a database called Orchard.

In September 2013, Whole Foods became the first major grocery chain to sell Hampton Creek products,[11] when it started using JUST Mayo in certain prepared foods.[12] This was followed by deals with Costco and Safeway.[13] [14] By early 2014, the company had raised $30 million in venture capital funding.[15] Later that year, it raised another $90 million.[16] [17]

The American Egg Board responded to the growth of Hampton Creek and other egg substitute companies with an advertising campaign featuring the slogan "Accept No Substitutes."

2014–2016

In October 2014, competitor Unilever sued Hampton Creek Foods alleging the "JUST Mayo" name misled consumers into believing the product contained real eggs.[18] [19] Public sentiment favored Hampton Creek and more than 100,000 people eventually signed a Change.org petition asking Unilever to "stop bullying sustainable food companies."[20] [21] [22] Unilever withdrew its lawsuit[23] six weeks after filing it.[24] However, the Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter saying the Just Mayo name was misleading to consumers, since the product must contain real eggs to be called "mayonnaise."[25] [26] In December 2015, Hampton Creek reached an agreement with the FDA to make it more clear in the Just Mayo packaging that it does not contain real eggs.[27] Publicity from the lawsuit and an egg shortage from the avian bird flu[28] helped Hampton Creek grow.

In late 2015, several former employees anonymously alleged Hampton Creek was exaggerating the science behind its products, mislabeling the ingredients in pre-production samples, and manipulated employment contracts.[29] [30] Then, emails secured through the Freedom of Information Act showed that the American Egg Board hired Edelman Public Relations to engage in a campaign targeting Hampton Creek's reputation.[31] Among other things, the emails inferred the Egg Board discussed interfering with Hampton's contract with Whole Foods, encouraged Unilever in their legal actions against Hampton Creek, and made jokes about hiring a hitman to kill the Hampton Creek CEO.[32] [33] [34] The United States Department of Agriculture opened an investigation and the CEO of the Egg Board resigned.[35] [36] [37]

Then, in 2016, a Bloomberg story reported on evidence inferring that Hampton Creek bought its own products off of store shelves in order to inflate sales numbers during fund-raising.[38] Hampton Creek said this was part of an unorthodox quality control program. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice started an inquiry[39] [40] that was closed in March 2017[41] after concluding the allegations were insignificant.

2016–present

By 2016, Eat Just had 142 employees. Late that year, it also substantially expanded its laboratory testing of prospective plant proteins, using robots and automation.[42] In August 2016, Hampton Creek raised another round of funding from investors.[43] The funding made the company a unicorn with a valuation of over $1 billion, but the amount of the funding was not disclosed.

In June 2017, Target stopped selling Hampton Creek products after seeing an anonymous letter alleging food safety issues, such as Salmonella and Listeria at Eat Just's manufacturing facility.[44] [45] Target said none of its customers reported getting sick and an FDA investigation found no contaminants in Hampton Creek's products.

Several of Hampton Creek's executives were fired in 2017, after the company alleged they were trying to take away CEO Josh Tetrick's control of the company.[46] By July 2017, the entire board had been fired, resigned, or moved to an advisory role except for the CEO and founder Josh Tetrick,[47] [48] reportedly over disputes with the CEO.[49] Five new board members were appointed.

Hampton Creek started transitioning its website and other branding to focus on the "Just" name in June 2017. The company's legal name was changed the following year.[50] This prompted trademark litigation with a bottled water company run by Jaden Smith that also uses the "Just" brand.

In late 2019, Eat Just Inc. acquired its first manufacturing plant.[51] The 30,000 square foot plant in Appleton, Minnesota, was originally a Del Dee Foods plant. Eat Just sales increased by more than 100% from February to July 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[52] [53]

In 2020, Eat Just created an Asian subsidiary with Proterra Investment Partners Asia.[54] Through the joint venture, Proterra promised to invest up to $100 million and, with Eat Just, started building a manufacturing facility in Singapore.[55]

Eat Just raised $200 million in funding in March 2021[56] to fund global expansion.[57] Also in 2021, Eat Just's GOOD Meat subsidiary raised $267 million in venture capital funding.

In May, 2022, Eat Just signed a contract with ABEC Inc., which manufactures bioprocess equipment, to build 10 bioreactors for growing meat. Tetrick estimates that the new bioreactors could potentially produce 30 million pounds of cultured meat per year. The location for the bioreactors is pending regulatory approval by the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture.[58] In 2023, ABEC filed a lawsuit again Eat Just for breach of contract. The lawsuit alleges that Eat Just has failed to live up to its financial obligations and has failed to pay over $30 million worth of invoices.[59]

Eat Just partnered with C2 Capital Partners in 2022, receiving $25 million from the private equity firm to expand Eat Just's operations in China.[60] [61]

In April 2023, Barnes & Noble launched breakfast sandwich made with Just Egg in 500 B&N Cafés nationwide.[62]

Lawsuits

Eat Just has been the subject of a number of lawsuits, primarily over unpaid bills. In 2023, bioreactor specialist ABEC sued Eat Just in a lawsuit claiming breach of contract due to Eat Just not paying over $61 million worth of invoices. Insiders said to Wired in 2023 that the company had a culture of paying suppliers late or withholding payment entirely.[63] In 2021, the company was sued by the landlord of its San Francisco headquarters, 2000 Folsom Partners LLC, over $2.6 million in overdue rent payments. Eat Just was also sued in 2021 by the Archer-Daniels-Midland Company over failing to pay a $15,000 2015 bill for hemp seeds, and by VWR International for $189,000 in unpaid debt.[64]

Food products

Eat Just develops and markets plant-based substitutes for foods that ordinarily use chicken eggs, such as scrambled eggs and mayonnaise. The company is best known for its plant-based JUST Egg made from mung beans.[56] According to Eat Just, the company has made the equivalent of 100 million eggs worth of food products as of March 2021.[56]

The company's egg substitutes are developed by finding plant proteins that serve a function eggs are normally used for, such as binding or emulsifying. For example, plant proteins are analyzed for molecular weight, amino acid sequences, and performance under heat or pressure. Much of the testing is focused on finding high-protein plants with specific types of proteins.

Eat Just's first product, Beyond Eggs, was intended to replace eggs in baked goods and was released in February 2013.[65] It is made with peas and other ingredients.[66] Later on, Eat Just developed plant-based substitutes for mayonnaise[67] and cookie dough.[68] Initially, the company focused on foods that use eggs as an ingredient, like muffins.[69] In July 2017, it started selling a substitute for scrambled eggs called Just Egg[70] [71] that is made from mung beans. It released a frozen version in January 2020.[72]

In late 2017, Eat Just announced it was developing a cultivated meat product to make chicken nuggets. The meat is grown in a bioreactor in a fluid of amino acids, sugar, and salt.[73] The chicken nuggets are 70% cultivated meat, while the remainder is made from mung bean proteins and other ingredients. The company is also working on cultivated Japanese Wagyu beef.[74] Cultured, also known as cultivated or cell-based meat, cannot be sold commercially until it is allowed by government regulators.[75]

In December 2020, the Government of Singapore approved cultivated meat created by Eat Just, branded as GOOD Meat.[76] [77] [78] A restaurant in Singapore called 1880 became the first place to sell Eat Just's cultured meat.[56] Eat Just subsequently got additional approvals for different types of chicken products, such as shredded and breast chicken.[79] In 2023, the company got approval from the United States Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration to sell its cultured meat in the United States.[80]

Notes and References

  1. Scully . Matthew . Hello Cultured Meat, Goodbye to the Cruelty of Industrial Animal Farming . National Review . 17 January 2021 . 18 January 2021.
  2. Web site: Disruptive Foods: What Seemed Impossible Sizzles in the Private Market . SharesPost . May 31, 2019 . February 25, 2020.
  3. Book: Purdy, Chase . Billion dollar burger : inside big tech's race for the future of food . Portfolio / Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC . New York, New York . 2020 . 978-0-525-53694-9 . 1121602679 .
  4. Just: Positioned to Target Mainstream Tastes?. University of Virginia. September 4, 2019. Luca. Cian. Gerry. Yemen. Jeff. Boichuk. 3445952.
  5. News: Can a California company do better than the egg? . The Washington Post . March 2, 2015 . February 26, 2020. Sarah. Henry.
  6. Web site: Bosker . Bianca . Mayonnaise, Disrupted . The Atlantic . October 2, 2017 . February 27, 2020.
  7. Web site: Xconomy: Hampton Creek Foods Reinvents the Egg---and Cookie Dough . Xconomy . December 24, 2013 . February 25, 2020.
  8. News: Can Silicon Valley Make Fake Meat and Eggs That Don't Suck?. Mother Jones. December 2, 2013. Sydney. Brownstone.
  9. Kyle. VanHemert. Inside Look: The Startup Lab Using Plants to Make Next-Gen Super Eggs . WIRED . December 10, 2013 . February 24, 2020.
  10. Web site: Mac . Ryan . Bill Gates' Food Fetish: Hampton Creek Foods Looks To Crack The Egg Industry . Forbes . November 23, 2013 . February 25, 2020.
  11. Web site: Greenwald . Ted . Hampton Creek and Other Startups Hope to Get into the Food Supply . MIT Technology Review . May 7, 2014 . February 26, 2020.
  12. Web site: Greenwald . Ted . Hampton Creek and Other Startups Hope to Get into the Food Supply . MIT Technology Review . May 7, 2014 . February 24, 2020.
  13. Eggless Eggs Exist and This Is What They Taste Like . Time . August 18, 2014 . February 24, 2020.
  14. Web site: Bradshaw . Tim . Food 2.0: the future of what we eat . Financial Times . October 31, 2014 . February 26, 2020.
  15. Web site: Mac . Ryan . Egg Replacing Startup Hampton Creek Foods Raises $23 Million From Asia's Richest Man And Yahoo Cofounder Jerry Yang . Forbes . February 17, 2014 . February 26, 2020.
  16. Web site: Mac . Ryan . Unilever Drops Mayo Lawsuit Against Egg-Replacing Startup Hampton Creek . Forbes . December 18, 2014 . February 24, 2020.
  17. News: An Eggless Egg You Can Fry. Newsweek. Andrew. Zaleski. December 22, 2014.
  18. Web site: Hellmann's Maker Sues Company Over Its Just Mayo Substitute Mayonnaise . The New York Times . November 10, 2014 . February 26, 2020.
  19. Web site: Lagorio-Chafkin . Christine . Egg-Free Food Startup Unfazed by Mayonnaise Lawsuit . Inc.com . November 11, 2014 . February 26, 2020.
  20. News: Kaplan . Sarah . How little 'Just Mayo' took on Big Egg and won . The Washington Post . December 18, 2015 . February 27, 2020.
  21. Web site: Rooney . Ben . Unilever lays an egg: Drops Just Mayo lawsuit . CNNMoney . December 19, 2014 . February 26, 2020.
  22. Web site: Gasparro . Annie . Hellmann's Seeks Justice vs. Just Mayo . WSJ . November 11, 2014 . February 26, 2020.
  23. Web site: Mac . Ryan . Unilever Drops Mayo Lawsuit Against Egg-Replacing Startup Hampton Creek . Forbes . December 18, 2014 . February 26, 2020.
  24. Web site: Unilever drops lawsuit against vegan mayonnaise maker . Los Angeles Times . December 19, 2014 . February 24, 2020.
  25. Web site: Koren . Marina . The FDA Says Eggless Mayo Isn't Real Mayo . The Atlantic . August 25, 2015 . February 26, 2020.
  26. FDA: Vegan 'Just Mayo' Can't Call Itself Mayonnaise . Time . August 25, 2015 . February 26, 2020.
  27. Web site: F.D.A. Allows Maker of Just Mayo to Keep Product's Name . The New York Times . December 17, 2015 . February 27, 2020.
  28. Web site: Carson . Biz . The US egg shortage is good news for this startup that wants to replace eggs with plants . Business Insider . July 6, 2015 . February 26, 2020.
  29. Web site: Carson . Biz . Sex, lies, and eggless mayonnaise: Something is rotten at food startup Hampton Creek, former employees say . Business Insider . August 5, 2015 . February 26, 2020.
  30. Want to Make Enemies Fast? Try Inventing a Vegan Egg . WIRED . September 9, 2015 . February 27, 2020.
  31. Web site: Thielman . Sam . US-appointed egg lobby paid food blogs and targeted chef to crush vegan startup . the Guardian . September 6, 2015 . February 27, 2020.
  32. Web site: Carson . Biz . Eggless-mayo startup Hampton Creek claims government agencies are behind a mayo conspiracy . Business Insider . September 3, 2015 . February 27, 2020.
  33. Web site: How Big Egg Tried To Bring Down Little 'Mayo' (And Failed) . NPR.org . September 3, 2015 . February 27, 2020.
  34. Web site: The egg industry launched a secret two-year war against a vegan mayonnaise competitor . Los Angeles Times . October 7, 2016 . February 27, 2020.
  35. Web site: Thielman . Sam . USDA scrambles to investigate egg lobby as CEO resigns . the Guardian . October 23, 2015 . February 27, 2020.
  36. Web site: USDA Begins Investigation Into American Egg Board over Mayo Fight . Fortune . October 23, 2015 . February 27, 2020. Claire. Groden.
  37. Web site: Agriculture Commodity Groups Want Exemption from USDA-Related FOIA Requests . Fortune . May 2, 2016 . February 27, 2020.
  38. Web site: Hampton Creek Ran Undercover Project to Buy Up Its Own Vegan Mayo . Bloomberg . August 4, 2016 . February 27, 2020. Olivia. Zaleski.
  39. Web site: Hampton Creek Faces SEC Inquiry Over Buying Its Own Product . Fortune . August 20, 2016 . February 27, 2020.
  40. Web site: Hampton Creek's Mayo Buybacks Prompt Inquiry by the SEC . Bloomberg . August 19, 2016 . February 27, 2020. Matt. Robinson . Olivia. Zaleski.
  41. Web site: SEC, DOJ Close Inquiries into Just Mayo Maker Hampton Creek . Fortune . March 24, 2017 . rw . February 27, 2020.
  42. Book: Shapiro, Paul . Clean meat: how growing meat without animals will revolutionize dinner and the world . Gallery Books . New York . 2018 . 978-1-5011-8908-1 . 1020292851 .
  43. Web site: Hampton Creek, Now a Unicorn, Shakes Up Management Team . Fortune . April 1, 2017 . rw . February 27, 2020.
  44. Web site: Target yanked Hampton Creek products after mysterious allegations. Vegans aren't happy . Los Angeles Times . June 28, 2017 . February 27, 2020.
  45. Web site: Target Begins Removing Hampton Creek's Products From Stores . Bloomberg . June 22, 2017 . February 27, 2020. Olivia. Zaleski.
  46. Web site: Rushe . Dominic . Food startup Hampton Creek fires three executives amid claims of planned coup . the Guardian . June 5, 2017 . February 27, 2020.
  47. Web site: Hampton Creek's Board Has Split Leaving CEO Sole Member . Fortune . July 17, 2017 . October 12, 2020.
  48. Web site: Hampton Creek's entire board - except the CEO - just quit . Business Insider Nederland . Leanna. Garfield . July 17, 2017 . nl . February 27, 2020.
  49. Web site: Can you make meat without an animal? Hampton Creek is betting its future on it . Los Angeles Times . Geoffrey. Mohan. September 20, 2017 . February 27, 2020.
  50. Web site: Erin. Brodwin. A fiery brand war between a Silicon Valley mayo startup and Jaden Smith's bottled water company is heating up - and one is alleging 'deceptions and misrepresentations' . Business Insider Nederland . June 25, 2018 . February 25, 2020.
  51. Web site: Eggless Egg-Maker Buys First Plant in Bid to Crack Costs . Bloomberg . December 12, 2019 . February 27, 2020. Deena. Shanker.
  52. Web site: Splitter . Jenny . Eat Just Expands To 17,000 Grocery Stores As Interest In Plant-Based Food Grows . Forbes . September 2, 2020 . September 25, 2020.
  53. Web site: Naidu . Richa . Exclusive: Plant-based egg maker JUST sees profit next year, then will look at IPO . U.S. . August 19, 2020 . September 25, 2020.
  54. Web site: Shu . Catherine . Eat Just partners with Proterra to launch a new subsidiary in Asia . TechCrunch . October 20, 2020 . October 21, 2020 .
  55. Web site: Plant-based egg producer Eat Just to build Singapore factory . Reuters . October 20, 2020 . October 21, 2020.
  56. Web site: León . Riley de . Plant-based food start-up Eat Just receives $200 million investment led by Qatar . CNBC . March 25, 2021 . March 29, 2021.
  57. Web site: Shanker . Deena . Faux-Egg Maker Eat Just Raises $200 Million More in Latest Round . Bloomberg.com . March 23, 2021 . March 29, 2021.
  58. Web site: Zimberoff . Larissa . This Bay Area company seeks to become the world's largest grower of cultured meat at 30 million pounds per year . San Francisco Chronicle . May 26, 2022 . May 27, 2022.
  59. Web site: Watson . Elaine . 2023-09-06 . Eat Just's GOOD Meat division hasn't paid its bills, says bioreactor co; parties in arbitration . 2023-12-07 . AgFunderNews . en-US.
  60. Web site: 2022-08-17 . Alibaba-backed private-equity firm invests in plant-based egg maker . 2022-08-17 . South China Morning Post . en.
  61. Web site: August 17, 2022 . Eat Just is on a mission to sustainably feed Asia from its Singapore manufacturing facility . 2022-08-17 . www.edb.gov.sg.
  62. Web site: April 13, 2023 . US's largest bookseller Barnes and Noble launches vegan JUST Egg sandwich in 500 stores nationwide. 2023-05-06 . Vegan Food & Living.
  63. Reynolds . Matt . Insiders Say Eat Just Is in Big Financial Trouble . 2024-01-09 . Wired . en-US . 1059-1028.
  64. News: McCormick . Erin . 2021-06-16 . Eat Just is racing to put 'no-kill meat' on your plate. Is it too good to be true? . 2024-01-09 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  65. Web site: Anthony. Ha. Khosla-Backed Hampton Creek Foods Launches Beyond Eggs, A Genuinely Convincing Egg Replacer. TechCrunch . February 13, 2013 . February 24, 2020.
  66. Web site: Why Bill Gates Is Investing In Chicken-Less Eggs . NPR.org . June 13, 2013 . February 24, 2020. Allison. Aubrey.
  67. Web site: Waxer . Cindy . Fake meat is on the menu this Thanksgiving . CNNMoney . November 26, 2013 . February 26, 2020.
  68. Web site: The egg comes first—no chicken necessary . CNBC . June 17, 2014 . February 24, 2020.
  69. Web site: Mirani . Leo . You can now buy lab-made eggs to go with your lab-grown burgers . Quartz . September 12, 2013 . February 24, 2020.
  70. Web site: Kelly . Heather . You can finally eat Hampton Creek's fake eggs . CNNMoney . November 1, 2017 . February 27, 2020.
  71. Web site: Anzilotti . Eillie . Plant-based eggs are coming for your breakfast sandwiches . Fast Company . August 3, 2018 . February 27, 2020.
  72. Web site: 21. Eat JUST . CNBC . June 16, 2020 . September 24, 2020.
  73. Web site: These $50 Chicken Nuggets Were Grown in a Lab. Bloomberg . October 22, 2019 . February 27, 2020. Deena. Shanker.
  74. Web site: Peters . Adele . The meat growing in this San Francisco lab will soon be available at restaurants . Fast Company . December 11, 2018 . October 7, 2020.
  75. Web site: Corbyn . Zoë . Out of the lab and into your frying pan: the advance of cultured meat . the Guardian . January 19, 2020 . February 27, 2020.
  76. Web site: No-kill, lab-grown meat to go on sale for first time. the Guardian . December 2, 2020. December 2, 2020. Damian . Carrington .
  77. Web site: Singapore approves lab-grown 'chicken' meat. . December 2, 2020. December 2, 2020.
  78. Web site: Gilchrist. Karen. 2021-03-01. This multibillion-dollar company is selling lab-grown chicken in a world-first. 2021-04-11. CNBC. en.
  79. Web site: Rogers . Kate . Lab-grown meat could make strides in 2022 as start-ups push for U.S. approval . CNBC . January 23, 2022 . March 3, 2022.
  80. News: Wiener-Bronner . Danielle . Lab-grown meat is cleared for sale in the United States . 24 June 2023 . CNN . 21 June 2023 . en.

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