A radical² 'artificial egg' made from plants is set to go global after the US firm behind it revealed major backing from Asia's richest man.

 

Made from plants, it can replace eggs in everything from cakes to mayonnaise（蛋黄酱） - without a chicken ever coming close to the production process.

 

Hampton Creek's products are already sold in Whole Foods in California, and now the firm plans to take on the world.

 

Today that it was announced the firm has landed $23 million infunding.

 

Backers include Mr. Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man and Yahoo co-founder³ Jerry Yang.

 

In the last 90 days, the company has also signed partnership⁴ agreements with 6 Fortune 500 companies, including some of the largest food manufactures and retailers⁵ in the world - although the firm is keeping their names secret until products go on sale.

 

Mr. Li Ka-shing, who is estimated to be worth $28.8 billion, said he believed the firm had huge potential.

 

'Technology enables everyone to have more options to better our future together,' he said.

 

'To keep up with all the demands for the growing global population, we need to be more efficient, more environmentally friendly, and have more quality and affordable⁶ choices.

 

Hampton Creek CEO and founder Josh Tetrick said, 'We live in a time where the unhealthy choice is dirt cheap and convenient, and the healthy choice is pricey and inconvenient⁷.

 

'When my Dad walks the grocery aisles⁸ to buy mayo or chocolate-chip cookies or eggs, the inputs⁹ that make them possible often come from bizarrely unhealthy places.

 

'Our goal has always been to build a company that brings healthier and affordable food to everyone, everywhere.

 

Solving a problem means actually solving the problem for most people – not just the folks that can afford to pay $5.99 for organic eggs.

 

'We want to take animals out of the equation,' Tetrick has previously¹⁰ told MailOnline.

 

'The food industry is begging for innovation, especially where animals are involved - it is a broken industry.' 

 

Tetrick's idea was to find a mix of easy-to-grow plants that, when mixed together in the right way, replicate¹¹ the taste, nutritional¹² values and cooking properties of an egg.

 

This, he believes will allow the firm to produce its substitute for mass market foods - and to allow developing worlds to grow their own versions with added nutrients¹⁴.

 

'Eggs are functionally¹⁵ incredible, they do everything from hold oil and water in mayo to making the muffin rise and holding scrambled¹⁶ eggs together,' he said 'I started to think what if we can find plants that can do this. We have about 12 plants pre-selected, including a pea already widely grown in Canada. There's also a bean in South Asia that is incredible in scrambled eggs（摊鸡蛋，炒鸡蛋）.

 

The firm is already in talks with major food manufacturers around the world - including several in the UK, to replace eggs in supermarket products with their alternative.

 

So far, he says the team has perfected an egg substitute for mayonnaise, and one for cakes.

 

'We can make really good mayonnaise, we've done taste tests against market leaders, and beaten them consistently. In the world of cookies, we've trialled our products with everyone from Bill Gates to Tony Blair, both of whom couldn't taste the difference. 

 

'Bill Gates became an advisor¹⁷ to the company, and has been one of its most vocal¹⁸ supporters in the Silicon¹⁹ Valley world where Hampton Creek is based.

 

'Companies like Hampton Creek Foods are experimenting with new ways to use heat and pressure to turn plants into foods that look and taste just like meat and eggs,' he recently wrote of the firm.

 

It hopes to allow developing countries to grow and produce their own 'plant eggs'.

 

'In developing countries, we can also add in things missing from the local diet, helping²⁰ nutrient¹³ deficiencies, and we have had initial discussion with the world food programme about this.

 

'What we want to do eventually is find a way to work with farmers in the developing world to enable them to have new cash crops that can be used. Then we become the kind of company to be feared by the bad guys in the industry.'

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