The Plant-Based Egg Developed By A Stanford Grad In QUARANTINE

Peggs was created to be the plant-based egg made by “chickpeas, not chicks”. Peggs uses 90% less land, water, and energy to produce and contribute to 50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

The Plant-Based Egg Developed By A Stanford Grad In QUARANTINE

THE PLANT-BASED EGG DEVELOPED BY A STANFORD GRAD IN QUARANTINE. IT’S MADE BY CHICKPEAS, NOT CHICKS AND USES 90% LESS LAND, WATER, AND ENERGY THAN EGGS. 

THE FOUNDER

Grace O’Brien is a Stanford grad, who studied engineering and design. She is passionate about sustainability and female entrepreneurship.

THE PROBLEM

Food is one of the most critical ways we can fight climate change. Your average grocery store’s dozen eggs need ~500kg of water to produce and result in ~2kg of CO2 emissions.

THE SOLUTION: “THE WORLD’S FIRST CHICKPEA EGG”

Peggs was created to be the plant-based eggs made by “chickpeas, not chicks”. Peggs uses 90% less land, water, and energy to produce and contribute to 50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Their powdered-egg uses chickpea, flax, potato, spices, and other plant ingredients that — when combined with water — look just like eggs. It can be used in both cooking and baking, just like a regular egg.

PEGGS’ ORIGIN STORY

Peggs was born during the pandemic in my kitchen because she wanted to make one of my favorite foods more sustainable. In college at Stanford, Grace learned that adopting a plant-based diet was the best way an individual can fight climate change. She wanted to go fully vegan, but never could because of the lack of an option to replace one of her favorite comfort foods: eggs.

During quarantine, Grace wanted to use her extra time productively and solve this problem. She researched eggs and their functional properties, alternatives, and nutritional breakdown to find hundreds of variations in her home kitchen.

Eventually, she landed on a recipe that worked in a variety of cuisines, from a savory scramble to pumpkin muffin. Peggs was born as the plant-based egg made by “chickpeas, not chicks”.

MORE ON THE PLANT-BASED EGG:

The world’s first chickpea-based egg: Peggs is one of the world’s first vegan plant-based egg alternatives made with a chickpea base. When combined with water, it becomes like an egg beater, and it can be cooked or baked like regular eggs.

Multifunctional, like real eggs: Can be used for scrambles, omelets, quiches, stir fry, french toast, cookies, brownies, breads, and more! 

Shelf-stable to encourage less waste: Grace decided on a powdered egg format to reduce food waste. In the US ~1 in every 12 eggs gets thrown away due to expiration. 

Clean ingredients “made in a kitchen, not a lab”: Many alternative proteins are created in a lab with unrecognizable ingredients. Grace and her team has strived to make a product with clean ingredients that people can pronounce and trust.

PEGGS LAUNCH DAY AND SPECIFICS 

Peggs is launching on Kickstarter on January 27th to raise enough money through preorders to take the operation out of the kitchen and commercialize it (~$37K). As a new grad, running the business from her own savings, Grace needs help from the community to start manufacturing.

Every ~Dozen Peggs sold in place of a dozen eggs will result in us saving ~200 gallons of water and ~2 kg of CO2 emissions.

Originally published at Veg world mag