Macarons, meringues, crème brûlée, chocolate mousse… It’s hard to make these desserts without a showpiece: chicken eggs. Alone or as an ingredient, this protein-rich food is one of the most consumed in the world. In France, 99% of the population stated they will eat it by 2020, according to a CSA survey for the National Egg Promotion Commission (CNPO). But the bakery Land&Monkeys and her manager Rodolphe Landemaine managed to do without. It is by taking on this challenge that the Tamago Food company and the project YUMGO : a plant-based, sustainable and allergen-free alternative to eggs. A look back at the origins of the YUMGO project with co-founder Anne Vincent† Speak.
The idea of YUMGO started from a simple observation: eggs are everywhere. In cakes, quiches, mayonnaise… Most sweet and savory preparations sold in restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets have this ingredient on their list. But that always remains a problem… In recent years, for ethical, ecological or even allergic reasons, more and more people want to reduce their consumption of animal products, including eggs. This is prompting hospitality professionals and manufacturers to rethink the composition of their food products.
For Land&Monkeys it sounded like a no-brainer. Being a vegan himself, Rodolphe Landemaine had to find an alternative to chicken eggs, and above all an alternative adapted to his production needs to complete the development of his 100% plant-based bakery and confectionery. But at the time, there were no substitutes specifically intended for professional use. So in 2019 we decide to create YUMGO for develop a plant-based product, without allergens, that can replace an egg in the same way in any sweet or savory preparation, and intended for hospitality professionals. For example, we wanted chefs to be able to use a more ethical and ecological ingredient, without questioning all of their recipes.
Delusions without sacrificing taste
After long research and development work, our YUMGO White was born, followed by YUMGO Yellow and YUMGO Whole, replacing egg whites, yolks and whole egg in recipes. The three products come in liquid form and are designed for professional use, in the appropriate format (bottles of 25 cl and 1 L, depending on the product). To develop them, we called on the skills of food engineers as well as chefs and pastry chefs. It was very important for us to combine the two to validate both the technical aspect of our products and their use by professionals.
Thanks to their research work and numerous tests, we managed to obtain a White YUMGO that is able to flow, solidify and be whipped. It can therefore be used to make mousses, meringues, macaroons and other desserts made from egg whites. YUMGO Yellow can be used in particular for making mayonnaise, pastry cream and crème brûlée. As for Whole YUMGO, it can help in the preparation of cakes, pies or quiches. To do this, go to the Land&Monkeys bakeries; the stalls are filled with products made from YUMGO, stunning both in texture and taste!
“Most people who blindly tasted YUMGO recipes didn’t even realize there were no eggs in their food. And that is exactly our goal: to offer a plant-based alternative that does not compromise on taste or indulgence. †
Anne Vincent, co-founder of YUMGO
Nothing changes on the taste side, not even on the cooking side. YUMGO products are used like the classic egg products that professionals buy for their recipes and even have several advantages over chicken eggs: they are allergen-free, have a slightly longer shelf life and can even be frozen! In addition, their carbon footprint is reduced by 99% compared to using egg products.
An ecological product for an involved kitchen
While we wanted to offer a product that was comparable to the ‘real thing’, it was also not about developing a new ultra-chemical or ultra-processed food. We wanted to offer the shortest possible ingredient list, with: natural and produced products in Europe† For example, YUMGO products are made on the basis of pea protein, potato protein or both and other ingredients such as flax and acacia fibres, rapeseed oil and salt. We continue to develop these compositions based on feedback, so that they are as clean as possible.
We also had a carbon footprint analysis of our products carried out by the company Carbone 4. Result: compared to 1 L of egg products – products derived from eggs and used by professionals, the liter of YUMGO allows reduce its carbon footprint by 99%† This means that even by replacing just part of your egg consumption with YUMGO, you can already have a significant environmental impact† For us this is not negligible and it is also the meaning of our approach: to facilitate the adoption of a more ecological way of life. In addition, we will continue this ecological reflection on the origin of products and packaging in order to optimize this impact at all levels. Rodolphe has the same approach for Land&Monkeys, which is particularly committed to reducing its waste.
Support in the transition to a plant-based diet
When we went on an adventure with Rodolphe, we didn’t know how our products would be received, especially by professionals who are used to cooking with eggs. In the end it was very positive, but we still realized that there were different phases of product adoption. That’s why we decided to support professionals in their transition to these ingredients and to a more plant-based kitchen by providing them with advice, recipes, demos or training.
The goal is really to make their lives easier so that they see the many possibilities of plant-based ingredients without fundamentally changing their profession and passion, while making a real impact on the planet, animals and people. We also work closely with pastry and cooking schools to present our products. It is important to us that new generations of chefs know these alternatives, because it is the future of gastronomy.
Today we are proud to work with about a hundred regular customers, ranging from small restaurant owners to distributors, and to be able to export our products to England, Belgium, Germany, Japan and even Switzerland. Next step for us: to develop our offer for manufacturers and large laboratories and to contribute to the democratization of a more plant-based, healthy and sustainable diet. Once we have shown this clientele that the YUMGO alternatives work on their scale, we can also develop preparations containing egg substitutes. Meanwhile, there is only one way to realize that YUMGO makes vegetable cooking easy and delicious: taste!
By Anne Vincent, co-founder of YUMGO, partner of Land&Monkeys
For learn about plant-based alternatives to eggs and how to use themgo to the website of YUMGO† Are you in Paris? Why not stop at Land&Monkeys taste the delicious pastries made from YUMGO †
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The YUMGO-based vegetable recipe booklet
A plant-based, sustainable and allergen-free alternative to eggs
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