Eat Just
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food technology |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Josh Tetrick, Josh Balk |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Josh Tetrick (CEO) |
| Products | Plant-based egg substitutes, cultivated meat |
Number of employees | 142 (2016) |
| Website | eatjust |
Eat Just, Inc. is a privately held firm based in San Francisco, California, United States, that specializes in producing plant-based egg substitutes and cultivated meat innovations. Established in 2011 by entrepreneurs Josh Tetrick and Josh Balk, the company raised approximately $120 million in initial venture capital and attained unicorn status by 2016, with a valuation surpassing $1 billion. It has encountered significant conflicts with conventional egg industry stakeholders. In December 2020, Eat Just’s cultured chicken product became the first cultured meat to gain regulatory approval in Singapore, marking the inaugural commercial sale of cell-grown meat at the Singaporean restaurant 1880.
2011–2014
Originally launched as Beyond Eggs and later rebranded Hampton Creek Foods, Eat Just was founded by childhood friends Josh Balk and Josh Tetrick. The company initially operated out of Los Angeles before moving its headquarters to San Francisco in 2012. Early financing included an initial $500,000 followed by a $2 million investment from Khosla Ventures. During its first two years, the company concentrated on research and development to create plant proteins that replicate the functional properties of chicken eggs, such as gelling and emulsification. In 2016, it secured a patent for an automated plant-testing system and developed a proprietary database named Orchard to catalog plant attributes.
In September 2013, Whole Foods Market became the first major retailer to stock Hampton Creek products, starting with JUST Mayo in their prepared foods section, followed by partnerships with Costco and Safeway. By early 2014, the company had secured $30 million in venture funding, which later increased by an additional $90 million. The expansion of Hampton Creek led the American Egg Board to initiate an advertising campaign titled "Accept No Substitutes," aimed at discouraging the use of egg alternatives.
2014–2016
In October 2014, Hampton Creek Foods faced legal action from competitor Unilever, which challenged the "JUST Mayo" branding on grounds that it misrepresented the product as containing real eggs. Public opinion largely supported Hampton Creek, with over 100,000 people signing a petition opposing Unilever’s lawsuit. The case was dropped six weeks later. Nonetheless, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance indicating that mayonnaise must include eggs, prompting Hampton Creek to revise its packaging by December 2015. The lawsuit publicity combined with an egg shortage caused by bird flu contributed positively to Hampton Creek’s market growth.
Towards the end of 2015, anonymous former employees accused Hampton Creek of overstating scientific claims about its products and mislabeling ingredients. Concurrently, emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (United States) revealed that the American Egg Board had engaged Edelman Public Relations to damage Hampton Creek’s reputation by attempting to disrupt its Whole Foods agreements and back Unilever’s legal efforts. This controversy led to an investigation by the United States Department of Agriculture and resulted in the resignation of the Egg Board’s CEO.
In 2016, Bloomberg reported allegations that Hampton Creek purchased its own products from retail shelves to artificially boost sales figures during fundraising rounds; the company stated these purchases were part of quality control procedures. Investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice were subsequently closed in March 2017 after determining that these claims were not significant.
2016–present
By 2016, Eat Just had grown to a workforce of 142 employees and enhanced its research into plant-based proteins through the integration of automation technologies. In August of that year, the company secured investment that valued it at over $1 billion, officially granting it unicorn status.
In June 2017, Target removed Hampton Creek products from its shelves after anonymous sources raised concerns regarding food safety at Eat Just's production facility. Despite these claims, no consumer illnesses were reported, and inspections conducted by the FDA found no evidence of contamination.
During the same year, several top executives were terminated following allegations of an attempted takeover against CEO Josh Tetrick. By July, most members of the board had either resigned or transitioned to advisory capacities, leaving Tetrick as the only actively serving board member.
Beginning in June 2017, the company initiated a rebranding effort to highlight the "Just" brand, culminating in an official legal name change in 2018. This shift resulted in trademark disputes with Jaden Smith’s bottled water brand, which shared the same name.
Toward the end of 2019, Eat Just purchased a 30,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Appleton, Minnesota, previously operated by Del Dee Foods. Between February and July 2020, sales more than doubled amid increased demand driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, Eat Just launched a subsidiary focused on the Asian market in partnership with Proterra Investment Partners Asia, which committed up to $100 million to establish a manufacturing plant in Singapore.
To fuel its global growth plans, Eat Just raised $200 million in March 2021. That same year, its cultured meat division GOOD Meat secured $267 million in venture capital funding.
In May 2022, Eat Just engaged ABEC Inc. to construct ten bioreactors designed for cultured meat production, with a potential annual output of 30 million pounds pending regulatory clearance. However, in 2023 ABEC filed a lawsuit against Eat Just alleging breach of contract over unpaid invoices exceeding $30 million.
Also in 2022, Eat Just collaborated with C2 Capital Partners and received $25 million aimed at expanding its operations within China.
In April 2023, Barnes & Noble launched a breakfast sandwich featuring Just Egg across 500 café locations nationwide.
Lawsuits
Eat Just has encountered multiple legal actions mainly concerning outstanding payments. In 2023, the bioreactor firm ABEC filed a lawsuit against Eat Just for contract violation due to unpaid bills totaling over $61 million. That same year, reports highlighted a corporate environment characterized by delayed or withheld payments to suppliers. In 2021, Eat Just faced litigation from its San Francisco landlord seeking $2.6 million in unpaid rent, as well as from Archer-Daniels-Midland Company over a $15,000 invoice dating back to 2015. Additionally, VWR International pursued recovery of $189,000 in unpaid debts.
Food products
Eat Just specializes in creating plant-based alternatives to chicken eggs and related items, with its flagship product being JUST Egg, derived from mung beans. By March 2021, the firm claimed production equivalent to 100 million eggs within its food offerings. Their egg substitutes mimic traditional egg properties such as binding and emulsification by examining plant proteins’ molecular weight, amino acid composition, and thermal behavior.
The initial product, Beyond Eggs, was launched in February 2013 as a pea protein-based egg replacement designed for baking applications. The company later expanded its lineup to include plant-based mayonnaise and cookie dough alternatives. In July 2017, Eat Just released Just Egg, a mung bean-based scrambled egg substitute, followed by a frozen version introduced in January 2020.
Toward the end of 2017, Eat Just ventured into cultivated meat production with chicken nuggets grown in bioreactors using amino acids, sugars, and salt. These nuggets contain approximately 70% cultivated meat blended with mung bean protein. The company is also working on cultivated Japanese Wagyu beef. Cultivated meat products must obtain regulatory approval prior to commercial distribution.
In December 2020, Singapore became the inaugural nation to authorize Eat Just’s cultured meat offering marketed as GOOD Meat. The product first appeared at Singapore’s restaurant 1880 and subsequently gained approval for shredded and breast chicken variants. In 2023, Eat Just secured regulatory clearance from both the USDA and FDA to market its cultured meat within the United States.