An environmental assessment undertaken by climate change specialist Zevero to calculate the global warming potentials (GWP) of alternative foods to animal-based products relative to CO2 found that plant-based egg replacers could be the answer to a bakery manufacturers’ sustainability goals.
While egg only accounts for around 20% of the volume of the average sponge cake, it contributes a significant 60% of the CO2e of that same cake.
UK vegan bakery brand OGGS, however, said the Zevero study shows its plant-based egg alternative results in considerable carbon impact gains.
The CO2e is 4.67kg for 1kg of liquid eggs compared to just 0.92kg of CO2e for OGGS Aquafaba – that’s an 72% reduction in carbon impact.
“The results of our trials so far are quite staggering,” said founder Hannah Carter.
“We've always known that plant-based has some big benefits when it comes to improved sustainability, and now the results truly speak for themselves.”
In fact, bakers switching even 20% of egg for OGGS will go a great way towards meeting sustainability and carbon neutral goals.
OGGS is already working with two large British bakery manufacturers to replace eggs with Aquafaba in their sponge cakes.
“Having recent bakery manufacturers switching to OGGS over eggs has been a huge win for us,” said Carter.
“We’re not looking to vegan-ise the bakery industry, but instead offer solutions to help manufacturers successfully meet their sustainability goals. Even partial swaps, such as using just 20% of OGGS Aquafaba over eggs is a huge step in the right direction.”
Better-for-you, too
While the study found that OGGS Aquafaba is better for the planet, the Certified B Corp claims it’s better for the people, too. When used in a Lemon Sponge recipe (comparing one egg for one equivalent amount of aquafaba in a 100g portion), there is a 10% reduction in saturated fats and a 5% reduction in calories.
It contains 85% fewer calories than hen’s eggs: 18 calories versus 131 calories.
It also contains 96% less saturated fat than egg: 0.1g of saturated fat versus 2.5g.
It packs in 88% less salt than egg: 0.05g of salt compared to 0.4g.
It’s also winning on costs.
Swapping egg for OGGS offers a reliable solution in the long term as shortages continue globally. Thanks to the worst outbreak of avian flu in recent history, the price of eggs have skyrocketed, making OGGS Aquafaba closer than ever to being price comparable to egg.
“Until recently, we only provided Aquafaba for grocery and food service. Historically, it's been difficult to compete on price, but with the current market, Aquafaba is now becoming a cost-effective solution that offers real sustainability gains,” said Carter.
“Add in health benefits, and taste and texture improvements and we think it’s a winning formula.”
OGGS Aquafaba is made from chickpea water and can be used in bakery products of any description that contain eggs.
It’s a breeze to work with, being a direct, ambient swap for liquid egg, and has been through a robust R&D process involving two top universities in the UK and Portugal to ensure its consistent performance, even in large scale manufacturing processes.
The swap can even create a lighter bake and allows for diversification into the vegan market.
OGGS Aquafaba is available in a 1,000 litre Pallecon, which is the equivalent of 20,000 eggs, and in a 10 litre bag-in-box.
In June 2019, OGGS launched the UK’s first vegan bakery range in June 2019, subsequently gaining listings in five of the six top retailers and remaining the leading plant-based bakery brand despite rising competition.
The company is also on a mission to remove unnecessary egg products from the food chain and to date, claims to have saved over 5 million eggs, given almost a million chickens the week off, and saved enough CO2e to drive around the world over 200 times.
