Onego Bio and Sigma Foods partner to test fermentation-derived egg protein Bioalbumen

Onego Bio has entered into a collaboration agreement with multinational food company Sigma Foods to evaluate the functionality and commercial potential of Bioalbumen, a non-animal egg protein produced using precision fermentation.

The partnership will see the companies test how the ingredient performs in commercially relevant food products while exploring its potential to address supply chain instability affecting the global egg industry.

• Onego Bio and Sigma Foods signed a collaboration agreement to evaluate Bioalbumen, a precision fermentation-derived egg protein designed to replicate the functionality of conventional egg white proteins.

• The companies will conduct feasibility studies, prototype development, and application trials to test the ingredient in real food formulations.

• The collaboration aims to address egg supply volatility linked to avian flu outbreaks, price fluctuations, and broader supply chain disruptions.

The collaboration will involve feasibility assessments, prototype development, and application trials aimed at testing Bioalbumen in real food formulations. The companies said early-stage evaluations have already shown promising results in terms of nutritional value and functional performance compared with conventional egg-based proteins.

Eggs are a key ingredient across the food industry because of the functional properties of ovalbumin, the primary protein found in egg whites. It provides foaming, binding, and gelling capabilities that are difficult to replicate with plant-based ingredients. However, disease outbreaks and supply disruptions have exposed vulnerabilities in the global egg supply chain.

Bioalbumen was developed to replicate the amino acid sequence of ovalbumin using precision fermentation. According to Onego Bio, the ingredient delivers the same functional, nutritional, and sensory performance as traditional eggs while offering improved supply stability for food manufacturers.

“At Sigma Foods, we are committed to delivering high-quality products in a sustainable and secure way,” said Gregorio De Haene, chief technology officer at Sigma. “Our partnership with Onego Bio reflects our ambition to stay ahead of evolving consumer preferences by exploring innovative ingredients like non-animal egg protein. This collaboration allows us to further strengthen our sustainability journey while bringing new future-forward solutions to the table.”

The collaboration aligns with Sigma’s strategy of exploring new ingredient technologies that can maintain product quality while supporting long-term sustainability and supply security goals.

For Onego Bio, the partnership represents another step toward commercial deployment of Bioalbumen with large-scale food manufacturers.

“We are excited to collaborate with Sigma, a company that shares our vision for science-based innovation and a resilient food system,” said Maija Itkonen, Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder of Onego Bio. “Bioalbumen is a powerful tool to support ESG goals for global food manufacturers and strengthen product stability at a time when the egg industry is increasingly vulnerable to disease outbreaks and pricing volatility.”

Founded to develop fermentation-derived egg proteins, the Finnish company has focused on creating ingredients that can replicate the functional performance of eggs without relying on animal agriculture. Bioalbumen is produced using engineered microorganisms through precision fermentation and can be used across a wide range of food applications that depend on egg proteins.

The ingredient is shelf-stable and designed to offer manufacturers consistent pricing and supply stability. Onego Bio has said the environmental footprint of Bioalbumen is approximately 90% smaller than conventional egg production.

In 2025, the company reached several development milestones, including regulatory progress and production scale-up while conducting pilot trials with major food manufacturers in sectors such as baking and confectionery.

Those efforts are part of a broader strategy to prepare Bioalbumen for commercial launch and large-scale manufacturing. Onego Bio has also outlined plans to expand production capacity and develop a flagship production facility in the USA as it moves toward wider commercial deployment.

The Sigma partnership fits into that strategy by allowing the company to test the ingredient in real product development scenarios with a major multinational food manufacturer.

The collaboration also highlights growing interest among established food companies in fermentation-derived ingredients that can deliver functional parity with conventional animal-based proteins while reducing supply chain risks.

Andrea Nieto, Product Development Manager at Sigma, will also join Onego Bio in a live cooking demonstration webinar scheduled for April 2026. The session will showcase how Bioalbumen performs in real product formulations and will form part of Onego Bio’s ongoing webinar series focused on its fermentation platform.

Onego Bio has gained increasing attention within the food technology sector as fermentation-based ingredient platforms begin to move closer to large-scale commercial deployment. Protein Production Technology International recently included the company in its '26 Food-Techs to Watch in 2026', highlighting Bioalbumen as one of the first non-animal egg proteins with an amino acid sequence identical to ovalbumin.

The company said the technology enables a one-to-one replacement for egg whites in industrial food production, preserving critical functional properties such as whipping, binding, and foaming while eliminating reliance on animal-derived ingredients.

Onego Bio has argued that fermentation-derived proteins could help strengthen the resilience of global food systems by decoupling key ingredients from the agricultural risks associated with livestock disease outbreaks and fluctuating commodity markets.

Sigma Foods operates in 17 countries across Mexico, Europe, the USA, and Latin America and distributes products through more than 640,000 points of sale. The company produces and markets a portfolio of more than 100 food brands spanning categories such as cold cuts, dairy, and prepared foods.

The companies said their collaboration will explore how next-generation ingredients like Bioalbumen can be integrated into mainstream food manufacturing while maintaining the taste, functionality, and nutritional characteristics consumers expect.