What comes first: the chicken or the egg? ARTURO ELIZONDO’S biotech is reinventing protein, reshaping global diet and future-proofing the food industry. read on about the world’s first liquid egg made without hens.



Protein water, protein ice cream, protein pasta, protein cookies and protein cereal.



These are just a few of the interesting products on-shelf for anyone looking to increase their daily protein intake. With analysts forecasting that the global protein ingredients’ market will reach $47.4 billion by 2032, there’s no doubt that this macronutrient is having a moment. We have become protein-obsessed but it’s not all about meat. 



Plant-based options are coming into their own as biotech companies create innovative ingredients that mimic animal meat characteristics while meeting consumer protein needs. A great example is heme, the molecule that gives meat its characteristic color and flavor. Heme is also found in plants and microorganisms so through fermentation or genetic engineering, it can be produced from plant or microbial sources. When heme is added to plant-based meat, it becomes eerily similar to the real thing. It’s an incredibly complex process that’s hard to scale, which is why Arturo Elizondo, the co-founder and CEO of The EVERY Company, started with an egg.



One of the biggest obstacles with bio-based products is the ‘valley of death’. Many innovative products die before they hit the market. “It’s one of the challenges with alternative proteins,” explains Elizondo. “So, our big focus, from the beginning, was choosing a technology that could scale; that had already scaled globally.” This is one of the reasons Elizondo chose fermentation for The EVERY Company – he could plug into existing, large-scale fermentation facilities without spending millions of dollars.



“Brewers use yeast to convert sugar into alcohol; we can use yeast to convert sugar into protein,” he says.



Protein is a megatrend that isn’t going away anytime soon. Elizondo says that even though it’s a big part of diet culture – both the keto and the caveman eating plans focus heavily on protein – there are benefits beyond satiety. “It’s the only macromolecule that hasn’t been demonized,” he says. “There are four macromolecules – protein, fats, carbohydrates and alcohol. Fats, carbs and alcohol are all controversial, but protein has maintained its halo.” There’s also the fact that globally, diets are dominated largely by animal proteins which, when farmed industrially, have a significant impact on the environment. “We have to start evolving the way we product protein because the demand isn’t going away,” he adds. As an alternative to the factory farming model, Elizondo believes we can use technology to produce protein in a healthier and more sustainable way. It’s not only about making products that look and taste similar to something else, he says that technology, in the long run, can create better food (and food systems) designed for humans.



One of the proteins Elizondo’s company is relooking is the egg. Although egg consumption in Africa is beyond the global average, it’s estimated that around 1.6 trillion eggs enter the market every year. “And it’s not suddenly going to stop. We’re not all going to start eating lentils and tofu,” he laughs. What makes The EVERY Company a little different is that it is an ingredients company. They’re not simply producing a consumer facing substitute for eggs (although they do have a few), they’re working with major industry players to integrate EVERY Company’s alternative protein ingredient into existing products and supply chains. 



“The unsexy thing about food is the supply chain. When the Covid pandemic happened and countries shut down their borders, it was a big wake-up call for the companies who import their animal protein,” says Elizondo. Another challenge is avian influenza, also known as bird flu. The poultry industry suffers, the price of eggs goes up and the manufacturers that use eggs are forced to adjust production schedules or reformulate recipes to cope with shortages. 



“How do we build a more resilient food system that can withstand the pressures of pandemics, climate change and zoonotic diseases? It’s a very fragile system,” he says. 



At the same time, many big food companies have ESG targets to cut carbon emissions and keep their supply chains steady. This usually means more consistent sourcing, avoiding rushed shipping and relying less on resource-heavy practices (like industrial egg farming which produces high levels of waste and emissions). “This is why we exist and how we can make impact at scale. We can support the entire industry and not be seen as adversarial. We’re building a better food system,” he says. For Elizondo, this is the future of food. In addition to working with major food producers on the ingredients side, The EVERY Company will be entering the mass market in 2025 with the EVERY Egg, the world’s first liquid egg made without hens. It’s not an elitist product that only expensive grocery stores will carry but rather an item everyone can find, afford and most importantly, eat.



Functionality first



As an industry, plant-based protein companies face a lot of challenges. In France, the words ‘steak’, ‘bacon’, and ‘sausage’ have been outlawed for meat alternatives. In South Africa, the High Court overturned an attempt by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) to impose similar restrictions. The issue took two years to resolve, and certain products were removed in the interim from retail shelves.



“This is why it’s so important to partner with the incumbents and work with them, not against them. There’s this huge gap in ingredients that no one talks about and that’s where our focus lies. It’s not about taste, it’s about functionality,” says Elizondo. “If you look at ingredient labels, it’s almost impossible to avoid eggs, they’re everywhere because they’re functional. They foam, bind and gel in ways that nothing else can.”



Eggs may seem like an impossible ingredient to replace but that’s where the biggest opportunity for The EVERY Company lies. In some ways, Elizondo compares the path he’s following to insulin. In 1922, insulin came from the pancreatic tissue of cows (and later pigs). It was produced at scale by Eli Lily to treat diabetes but still came from animals. But then, in 1978, the first genetically engineered, synthetic ‘human’ insulin was produced using E. coli bacteria. “This company found a way to make insulin through protein fermentation technology and within 15 years, it dominated the market. And now, 99% of insulin in the world is made using the same technology,” says Elizondo. Protein fermentation technology moved to the cheese industry and replaced animal rennet with bio-identical chymosin, an enzyme essential for curdling milk. It’s a technique also used to create vitamins and to extend the freshness of baked goods by synthesizing enzymes that improve texture and shelf life. Protein is more than a megatrend, “it’s the best-kept secret in the food industry,” exclaims Elizondo. “And if we can make these ingredients a little bit better, a little bit safer, a little bit more sustainable, that’s worth fighting for.”

Arturo Elizondo in The EVERY kitchen; Image supplied

The Future Of Food: Hatching A Protein Revolution

It was a contract scribbled on a paper napkin that catapulted Barcelona’s footballer, Lionel Messi, to international stardom. History almost repeated itself when Ashley Uys signed a contract on a train to Frankfurt.
Ashley Uys and Andrew Smith*, his previous business partner, were on their way to Frankfurt airport to catch their plane home to South Africa after signing a deal with a German company. As the train rattled to the airport, Smith turned to Uys with what seemed to be a sweet deal. For Uys it turned into a rotten headache.
It had been a long journey to the railway car.
In 2006, Uys, a biotechnologist scientist, was working from the University of the Western Cape’s laboratories in South Africa, trying to run his own operation.
Two years later Smith, a businessman based in the United Kingdom, approached the Cape Town-based scientist with an interest in the type of work and research Uys was doing and a suggestion of starting a joint venture.
Smith knew of a German company that had been struggling for nearly two years to find a test developed for long-term alcohol consumption. The joint venture would develop a test that can detect alcohol consumption in urine. The German company wanted to sell the product to rehabilitation clinics.
Uys flew to Germany and within three days he had developed a prototype and it worked. It was a world first.
“I was like, ‘My word! My first big development,’” says Uys.
Smith and Uys had struck a deal in the German town of Gottingen and were on a train to Frankfurt to catch a flight to South Africa. Smith then proposed they go 50/50 on the test and split the profits.
“I said ‘We can’t go 50/50 on this test because my organization develops test kits. Our joint venture is a vehicle for drug testing services. Your company does hair testing. So obviously this component of work is my company,’” says Uys.
He proposed to Smith that he gets shares as he introduced Uys to the German company. Smith said he’d give him R6 million ($580,000) and suggested he set up his own operation, which Uys was in the process of doing.
“I said yes and signed with this guy. I finally got the break. I was over the moon. After all this hard work, after waiting a year for sales, all the studies and research, sacrifices and stress, lack of resources and money —I had finally made it,” says Uys.
A year later, Uys had still not received the R6 million ($580,000). He called Smith and asked for his money because he didn’t want to raise investment or lose equity to set up his operation.
“He told me there was no date on the contract and he can give the capital whenever he wanted,” remembers Uys.
Smith threatened to sue Uys if he went ahead with the product. The Germans phoned Uys saying they wanted him in their country to work on the product, while they negotiated with Smith on his behalf.
Uys went to Germany. Smith sued him and the court battles began. But the court favoured Smith and he won with costs. It, however, didn’t end there.
Smith didn’t know how to make the test after numerous trials, so the court ordered Uys to hand over his books to help Smith to develop the product.
“Even with the formulation, it is important to have the know-how. He struggled for a year. He eventually blackmailed me and said ‘I’m going to tarnish your name now’. He put the judgment on his website and actually paid ad words so it would appear on the first page if you Googled my name. He was trying to burn my name,” says Uys.
A few years later, Smith failed with the product. He showed up last year and settled for 2.5% for two years, short of the 50% he had proposed two years before.
“That was really nice for me because it showed who the culprit was and it was reported in a newspaper and people could see I was not a crook. I just made a big mistake by signing a contract. I was then being sued for my own product,” he says.
Now, after lying dormant for two years because of the legal disputes, Uys says they will continue with developments of the prototype. It could make him a fortune.
“I’m very happy I went through this experience. It was a learning curve. I was only 25 or 26 at the time and still naïve and excited. So I’ve learnt a lot from this court case and I’m really happy that it happened without damaging my reputation,” says Uys.
In 2010, he started Medical Diagnostech, developing around 1.5 million kits per year for HIV, pregnancy and ovulation or fertility tests. He employs around 20 people, three of whom are family.
The 30-year-old has made most of his money from the R4, three-step Malaria test kit, which has sold almost 600,000 units this year.
“We’re listing with the World Health Organization. They accepted us in their round five testing to become the preferred supplier. We also got accreditation now to operate on a global scale.”
Uys grew up in the Cape Flats, a neighborhood notorious for gang violence and drug abuse, in a country where most of the people live below the poverty line. Few can afford drug tests which often cost around $6 a piece.
Uys created the Oculus ID range, software that can test for drugs and impairment. He also developed the smartphone application, OculusMobi, and the OculusPro unit. They are used for facial recognition and to test for impairment. OculusLaw, a portable professional camera, takes a picture of the eye. If the eye does not react to the flash, the person could be on drugs. Drugs such as crystal meth and cocaine can enlarge the pupil, while heroin makes them smaller.
Uys is a man changing the world, one medical kit at a time, and has a current potential revenue of up to $12 million. But for now, the small company turns over around $500,000  a year.
He may not have received that $600,000 from Smith, but his reputation as a scientist remained intact and appears destined to make his fortune through his innovative projects.
It’s been a long journey since the train to Frankfurt and now Uys appears to be on track.
*Andrew Smith is not his real name

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The Future Of Food: Hatching A Protein Revolution

A Sweet Deal Turned Sour