Which came first? French biologists crack an entirely chicken-free egg

France is Europe’s biggest egg producer and its cuisine is laden with this economic, versatile, protein-rich food. But for people with allergies, or who follow a vegan diet, it's a nightmare. Two young French biologists took up the challenge of developing an animal-free alternative and after two years of solid R&D are ready to sell Le Papondu (not laid) to restaurants.

The biologists have managed to develop an egg with a separate white and yoke but haven't yet found a solution for the shell, so are beginning with a blend of the two. © Papondu

Over 5.7 billion eggs were laid in France in 2020. They’re everywhere – in patisseries, quiches, and of course that so very French omelette, which dates back to the 16^th century.  

While non-animal alternatives exist for many dairy products, the egg hadn't found its vegetal equivalent. 

Sheryline Thavisouk and Philippine Soulères separated the egg from the chicken and the resulting Le Papondu means you "no longer need to crack eggs to make an omelette".

The two women met four years ago as students studying industrial biology in Paris. They could have made careers developing the ultimate facial cream, but identified a more pressing need.

“We realised there were more and more people that want to replace eggs, people with egg allergies and vegans," says Thavisouk, "but they had no solution."

What's more those with egg allergies "are mostly children," says Soulères,  "so their parents are looking for a product that looks like something they know, so they can use it easily in their daily life".

Click here to listen to an audio report on Le Papondu in the Spotlight on France podcast

Spotlight on France, episode 68 © RFI

Helped by a successful crowdfunding campaign, they set to work.

“We selected a few ingredients, for example vegetable proteins but also fibres, everything that would allow us to have a product that would react exactly the same as a chicken egg,” Soulères explains.

Le Papondu has just seven ingredients: fava bean flour, methylcellulose, water, salt, oil, natural aroma and carrot for colouring.

“At first we wanted to offer a product like an egg with a white and a yoke,” says Soulères. “We have a prototype that works that we can do in our own kitchens," but they realised a lot more work was needed to develop it and be able to upscale production.

'Beaten' Papondu

So the first shape their product will take is not oval, but in liquid form – a mix of white and yoke and a convincing alternative to the liquid egg widely used in the catering industry.

“You can cook it in recipes but also cook it alone in omelettes, and also make scrambled Papondu,” Soulères says. 

Their egg mix has similar nutritional value to the animal version with 10g of protein per 100g versus 13g for a traditional egg. It's lower in saturated fat, cholesterol-free, and unlike the feathered friend product, has fibre.

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Papondu is not unique: US food tech brand JUST has a liquid vegan egg product based on mung bean protein while French brand Yumgo has an egg mix and its white is popular in patisserie.

But the Papondu duo want to go further. Having worked hard on the texture and taste, they hope to develop a shell so the eggs can be sold just like the animal equivalent, six in a box. They have yet to find a solution to a non-plastic shell but insist it's only a matter of time.

Philippine Soulères (L) holds their Fu'muffin Papondu. She and Sheryline Thavisouk (R) wanted to provide a solution for people with egg allergies and vegans, and were sure they had the technical know how. © RFI/Hird

Changing everyone's eating habits

France got rid of old-style battery cages in 2012, but a majority of French laying hens are still housed in 'improved cages', which are scarcely better. The birds can’t turn around and never see daylight.

For hard-core vegans the battle is stopping animal cruelty and having a full range of culinary delights is secondary.

“Vegans don’t really need replacement products, give us a handful of lentils and some pasta, we’re happy!, says Brigitte Gothière, co-founder of animal rights group L214. “What we want is to avoid hurting animals so we’re ready to eat less well.”

The beauty of Le Papondu, she says, is that it could encourage meat eaters to change or at least broaden their eating habits, much like beyond burgers have got carnivores munching veggie burgers.

“The strength of this kind of innovation is that it resembles a product that people know, it means they can change the impact of what they eat without changing the way they cook,” Gothière says. “The message is ‘you like the taste? Here it is!’” 

For the moment the vegan egg will be sold to restaurants but Soulères and Thavisouk plan to have it on supermarket shelves later this year, thanks to support from the Station F start up incubator in Paris where they're now based.

Their market research shows supermarkets and restaurants are interested in a vegan egg but people wanting to crack their Papondu into the frying pan will have to wait that bit longer.

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This story was first produced for the Spotlight on France podcast. Listen to the audio here. Listen and subscribe to all the podcasts here.