Metatexture (CEO Juin Mun) will introduce ‘SweetEgg’, a plant-based alternative egg at the COMEUP 2022 held for three days at the Seoul Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) from November 9th(Wed) to the 11th(Fri).
Metatexture is a food-tech startup that uses domestic agricultural products to develop alternative foods that can replace protein food groups other than meat. As the first item, the plant-based egg ‘SweetEgg’ was released.
SweetEgg was created as an alternative food in the form of eggs with 100% plant-based ingredients as the poultry industry suffered instability of supply and demand due to the Avian Influenza (AI). The main technology is in the texture implementation. The company explains that by digitizing the data of when a person chews, it was able to make the texture of the white part of the SweetEgg to be 80% similar to that of an original egg.
Joo-In Moon, the CEO of Metatexture revealed the development background, “The global market for alternative proteins is increasing. The overseas market for alternative food is active but the entered products are mainly meat. In the case of Korea, the alternative food market itself is in the early stages. Therefore, we took on the challenge with the possibility that if we develop alternative foods for protein other than meat as well, we will be able to enter not only the domestic market but also the overseas market.
The alternative egg products include boiled eggs, dried whole egg, dried powder, and cream products that utilize the whipping function of egg whites. Metatexture said it can use these to release various products such as egg-mayo sandwich, scrambled egg, egg rolls, and whipped cream for cake.
Metatexture is officially releasing the product in November, after a two-year development period. CEO Joo-In Moon explained that the egg-mayo crowd funding is underway on Wadiz in the B2C field, and B2B is also responding enthusiastically with inquiries flooding in from food companies to use SweetEgg as an ingredient. At the end of November, you will be able to find products containing SweetEgg in the convenience food corner of convenience stores, and since the beginning of this year they have been collaborating with international affiliates of large corporations to speed up overseas expansion.
They are also planning to develop alternative foods based on plant-based protein, produce protein substitutes using microorganisms, and develop a model for predicting the physical properties of data-based mixed Hydrogel.
CEO Joo-In Moon shared, “I thought that we need to create foods that consumers will enjoy for sustainable development of the future food industry. At first, we were going to sell dishes that used the alternative foods, but there weren’t enough products on the market that were similar to the quality of the egg. So, I thought it would be faster to put together a team and develop it myself. Many people have said that it was very delicious and that they are looking forward to this product, so as a result it was a wise decision.”
He continued, “The development of the future food industry is actively taking place in Korea, and everyone is entering this field if they are a part of the food industry whether it’s a large company or a startup. We are the first company to develop plant-based boiled eggs in Korea, and we would like to inform various buyers and investors because it is a high-quality product. We hope that this COMEUP will be an opportunity for people to remember Korea’s alternative eggs, SweetEgg.”
Having its 4th iteration this year, ‘COMEUP 2022’ is hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Young Lee) and is overseen by the Korea Startup Forum (Chairman Jaewook Park). Innovative startups, investors, and startup related people from Korea and over 15 countries are scheduled to attend, and starting from this year in particular, COMEUP will be rebranded into a startup-centered, private sector led event from the existing government-private collaboration that it was before and begin its journey to become one of the 5 big startup events in the world.With the slogan of ‘WE MOVE THE WORLD’, the event will be conducted both on and offline, and will have various programs like Academic Conferences (Conference), Open Innovation Strategy of Global Companies (Open Innovation), COMEUP Stars Company Introduction (IR) and Booth Exhibitions, and Business Matching (Biz Matching).
COMEUP 2022 News Special Page