Eat Just, Inc. is a private company headquartered in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. It develops and markets plant-based alternatives to conventionally produced egg products and 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 The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

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 lab-grown chicken became the first

cultured meat Cultured meat (also known by other names) is meat produced by culturing animal cells ''in vitro''. It is a form of cellular agriculture. Cultured meat is produced using tissue engineering techniques pioneered in regenerative medicine. Jason Ma ...

to receive regulatory approval in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. 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".

History

2011–2014

Eat Just Inc. was founded in 2011 under the name Beyond Eggs and then Hampton Creek Foods by childhood friends Josh Balk and Josh Tetrick. It started in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, then moved to Tetrick's garage in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in 2012. At the time, the company had about 30 employees. Initially, it had $500,000 then $2 million in venture capital funding from

Khosla Ventures Khosla Ventures is an American venture capital firm founded by Vinod Khosla, focused on early-stage companies in the Internet, computing, mobile, financial services, agriculture, healthcare and clean technology sectors. Some of its most successfu ...

. Hampton Creek's first two years were spent in research and development. It tested plant varieties in a lab in order to identify plant proteins with properties similar to chicken eggs, 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 Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A USDA ...

became the first major grocery chain to sell Hampton Creek products, when it started using JUST Mayo in certain prepared foods. This was followed by deals with

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

and

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...

. By early 2014, the company had raised $30 million in venture capital funding. Later that year, it raised another $90 million. The

American Egg Board The American Egg Board (AEB) is a United States checkoff marketing organization, which focuses on marketing and promotion of eggs for human consumption. The AEB is best known for its long-running slogan, "The Incredible, Edible Egg", and the Just ...

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 Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

sued Hampton Creek Foods alleging the "JUST Mayo" name misled consumers into believing the product contained real eggs. 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." Unilever withdrew its lawsuit six weeks after filing it. However, the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

sent a warning letter saying the Just Mayo name was misleading to consumers, since the product must contain real eggs to be called "mayonnaise." 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. Publicity from the lawsuit and an egg shortage from the

avian bird flu Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds. Then, emails secured through the

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...

showed that the

hired Edelman Public Relations to engage in a campaign targeting Hampton Creek's reputation. 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. The

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

opened an investigation and the CEO of the Egg Board resigned. 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. Hampton Creek said this was part of an unorthodox quality control program. The

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

and the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

started an inquiry that was closed in March 2017 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. In August 2016, Hampton Creek raised another round of funding from investors. The funding made the company a

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 ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...

'' and ''

Listeria ''Listeria'' is a genus of bacteria that acts as an intracellular parasite in mammals. Until 1992, 17 species were known, each containing two subspecies. By 2020, 21 species had been identified. The genus is named in honour of the British pi ...

'' at Eat Just's manufacturing facility. 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. By July 2017, the entire board had been fired, resigned, or moved to an advisory role except for the CEO and founder Josh Tetrick, reportedly over disputes with the CEO. 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. This prompted trademark litigation with a

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to large car ...

company run by

Jaden Smith Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998), also known mononymously as Jaden, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He has received various accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an MTV Movie Award, a BET Award and a Young Artist ...

that also uses the "Just" brand. In late 2019, Eat Just Inc. acquired its first manufacturing plant. The 30,000 square foot plant in

Appleton, Minnesota Appleton is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 1,412 at the 2010 census. The town is home to a vacant medium-security prison, the Prairie Correctional Facility, which is wholly owned and operated by Correctio ...

, 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2020, Eat Just created an Asian subsidiary with Proterra Investment Partners Asia. Through the joint venture, Proterra promised to invest up to $100 million and, with Eat Just, started building a manufacturing facility in Singapore. Eat Just raised $200 million in funding in March 2021 to fund global expansion. 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. The location for the bioreactors is pending regulatory approval by the

and

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

. 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.

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 bean The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...

s. According to Eat Just, the company has made the equivalent of 100 million eggs worth of food products as of March 2021. 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 An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Although ...

. 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. It is made with peas and other ingredients. Later on, Eat Just developed plant-based substitutes for mayonnaise and

cookie dough Cookie dough is an un-cooked blend of cookie ingredients. Cookie dough is normally intended to be baked into individual cookies before eating, however edible cookie dough is made to be eaten as is, and usually is made without eggs to make it safer ...

. Initially, the company focused on foods that use eggs as an ingredient, like muffins. In July 2017, it started selling a substitute for scrambled eggs called Just Egg that is made from

s. It released a frozen version in January 2020. In late 2017, Eat Just announced it was developing a cultivated meat product to make chicken nuggets. The meat is grown in a

bioreactor A bioreactor refers to any manufactured device or system that supports a biologically active environment. In one case, a bioreactor is a vessel in which a chemical reaction, chemical process is carried out which involves organisms or biochemistry, ...

in a fluid of

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

s, sugar, and salt. 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. Cultured, also known as cultivated or cell-based meat, cannot be sold commercially until it is allowed by government regulators. In December 2020, the

Government of Singapore The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...

approved cultivated meat created by Eat Just, branded as GOOD Meat. A restaurant in Singapore called 1880 became the first place to sell Eat Just's cultured meat. Eat Just subsequently got additional approvals for different types of chicken products, such as shredded and breast chicken.

References

External links

* {{Cultured meat startups American companies established in 2011 Food and drink companies established in 2011 2011 establishments in California Meat substitutes Condiment companies of the United States Vegetarian companies and establishments of the United States Cellular agriculture