Last week the investment and innovation arm of AB InBev, ZX Ventures, said that it would be partnering with Clara Foods to brew egg substitutes for Budweiser.

“Since day one, Clara has been on a mission to accelerate the world’s transition to animal-free protein, starting with the egg. More than one trillion eggs are consumed globally every year and corporate commitments for cage-free aren’t enough,” said Arturo Elizondo, the chief executive and co-founder of Clara Foods. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with the world’s largest fermentation company to work together to enable a kinder, greener and more delicious future. This partnership is a major step towards realizing our vision.”

From 2019 to 2020 investments in alternative proteins skyrocketed from just over $1 billion to $3 billion led by investments in plant protein products.

“Meeting the increased demand for food requires breakthrough solutions built on collaboration and innovation that spans several industry domains — both old and new. The ancient and natural process of fermentation can be further harnessed to help meet future demands in our global food system,” said Patrick O’Riordan, founder & CEO at BioBrew, ZX Ventures’ new business line trying to apply large-scale fermentation and downstream processing expertise beyond beer. “We look forward to exploring the development of highly functional, animal-free egg proteins with Clara Foods in a scalable, sustainable and economically viable manner.”

Image courtesy of Good Food Institute