March 1, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media 

Finland-based cellular ag startup Onego Bio announced it has successfully closed on EUR10 million (US$11.2 million) in Seed funding through a round involving venture capital investors Agronomics Limited, and Maki VC. 

Eggs are one of the most commonly used animal proteins. Global egg production has almost doubled over the past 20 years with expectations that it will reach 138 million tons per year by 2030. However, as consumers become more aware of their food chains and more concerned with animal welfare within those chains, egg farms have come under a scrutinizing microscope over chicken welfare. 

In the U.S., the industry has moved toward more humane production practices on a state-by-state basis through the adoption of cage-free requirements for chickens in the egg industry. However, consumers are often surprised to find that “cage-free” doesn’t necessarily mean that chickens are spending their days in pastures. 

And as consumer demands shift, and welfare and environmental concerns remain strongly connected to animal-based agriculture, startups like Onego Bio are catching attention from investors looking to gain exposure to technologies that can answer all of these challenges. And Onego, for one, believes that demand for animal-free egg white protein will experience global growth due to excessive use of land, greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity, and the risk of global pandemics.

Spun off from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Onego Bio uses a commercially proven Trichoderma technology to produce bioalbumen – an animal-free egg protein – through a specific bioreactor fermentation process.

This project has been part of VTT LaunchPad – a science-based spin-off incubator through which VTT researchers are brought together with the top minds in business and investment in order to renew industries.

The team at VTT has developed a safe, sustainable, and cost-effective cellular ag method for producing ovalbumin, the most abundant egg white protein. Based on harnessing the microflora Trichoderma reesei, along with water, sugar, and certain minerals, the team believes it has landed on a superior technology due to its efficiency and productivity.

“VTT’s laboratories and technical teams have cutting-edge know-how to develop truly new innovations,” said Maija Itkonen, CEO, Onego Bio Ltd. “We will continue working together with them on the scientific aspects, and together with our investors we simultaneously focus on commercializing the technology,”

In the near future, Onego Bio will focus on building its pilot production facility in Finland and securing the necessary commercial approvals for its first product – animal-free bioalbumen powder.

“We are highly impressed with the Onego team’s capabilities, background, and their vision for the company,” said Jim Mellon, executive director, Agronomics. “With their technology, they have the potential to produce bioalbumen at an industrial scale and at a price point that is competitive with conventional egg production which has major implications for the environment and animal welfare.”

Mellon continued, “Egg white production has a huge total addressable market and there is a necessity to utilize precision fermentation tools to meet the demand in a sustainable manner. We look forward to seeing what they can accomplish.”

Due to more lax regulations surrounding market entry, Onego Bio will initially market the product in the U.S. as a food ingredient for the bakery and confectionery industries, and as a protein supplement for fitness products, and later, as its own branded consumer product for baking and cooking.

“We have a big mission,” said Itkonen. “We want to rethink eggs and give people access to a delicious, healthy, animal-free alternative. Egg white is a smart starting point for the next level proteins. Because of its unique functional properties like gelling, foaming, binding and emulsifying, the egg white is extremely difficult to replace with alternative ingredients. In many applications, eggs are the last frontier before entirely animal-free end products can be manufactured.”

Onego Bio stated that food production based on cellular agriculture is forecasted to disrupt the entire global food system by having a positive impact on not only the environment, but by significantly reducing human exposure to antibiotics while improving global health by preventing infectious diseases, such as bird flu, from transferring from animals to humans.

“VTT has world-class knowhow in the field of cellular agriculture and microbial based protein production,” said Tua Huomo, executive vice president, VTT. “In Finland there are great companies working on other areas of cellular agriculture, and now it’s time to set the bar high and have a position also for proteins that are traditionally sourced from animals. This action will be hopefully remembered as one of the great milestones towards the more sustainable and healthy food system.”

*The content put forth by GAI News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. GAI and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.