ChickP presents its chickpea isolate as an all-purpose, nutrition-packed, plant-based egg alternative for eggs in mayonnaise.
The start-up company teamed up with select food companies to help formulate egg-free recipes, including a creamy mayonnaise substitute and salad-dressings. The resulting products have the flavour, appearance, and functionality of counterparts with real egg, all the while adding nutritional value. The company is commercialising two different chickpea-sourced isolates, each designed to impart specific organoleptic qualities.
ChickP’s proprietary isolate is starring in different mayonnaise recipes as a one-to-one replacement for egg yolk. The pilots were so successful that one formulation is now going into large-scale pilot production. Food producers operating in the plant-based spaces also are turning to the ChickP isolate as a highly functional clean-label emulsifier allowing them to whip up vegan creams, sauces, and dressings as it hits key notes in sensory and flavour qualities.
Products crafted with ChickP’s isolate exhibit long shelf life and good heat stability, making the ingredient suitable for dispersal into both hot and cold applications.
The isolate, which boasts 90% protein content, utilises all the extractable components of the chickpea, providing a powerful and holistic nutritional boost. It is a proven and compelling egg replacer for vegan food formulations in this category, giving food companies’ new opportunities to shorten and simplify their labels. The solution has the potential to release the vegan mayo market from traditional dependence on modified starches, hydrocolloids, and stabilizers for emulsification and flavor. The unusually high protein content eliminates the need for adding ingredients that are less nutritionally relevant to the final product.
Boosting the Aquafaba effect
The chickpea’s unique ability to assume egglike behaviour has been gaining traction among the global vegan and egg allergic communities for a number of years. Following a turning point revelation by vegan foodie Goose Wohlt in 2014, many have been fervently embracing the practice of using aquafaba – the starchy liquid from tinned beans – to whip up creams for meringues, macaroons, mousses, and savory delicacies as well as mayonnaise, creamy dressings, and cheese substitutes.
“The discovery of the chickpea aquafaba effect has been a culinary gamechanger for many vegans,” notes Ron Klein, CEO of ChickP. “The downside is that it still doesn’t present a viable egg substitute in nutritional terms, as it contains only a fraction of the protein of an egg. We took the aquafaba concept a leap further and derived that same desired effect from the body of the nutrient dense chickpea isolate.”
Future Market insights anticipates the global egg replacement ingredient market will register a CAGR of 5.8% by 2026 reaching an estimated value of US$1.5B as manufacturers meet consumer demands for vegan, vegetarian, and allergen-free products. Various brands of egg-free mayonnaise and dressings already are available, but many use whey protein concentrate. Others include various nuts and starches. The former is non-vegan, and all pose allergen risks.
While growing environmental awareness is driving a consumer shift towards the adoption of vegan and flexitarian diets, additional factors such as egg shortages, rising prices of eggs, salmonella risks, and various egg-related allergies are also making room for the egg replacement market.
“ChickP isolate presents a highly nutritious clean-label, plant-based solution to replicating the role of the egg yolk in mayonnaise formulations,” says Itay Dana, VP of Sales and Business Development for ChickP. “Our isolate demonstrates superior foaming capabilities due to its high solubility and smooth texture and possesses minimal off-notes. This allows us to tailor mayo recipes to the customers’ desired requirements and produce a truly creamy product that is visually and organoleptically appealing, without the use of synthetic thickening, texturising, or masking agents.”
