KENKO MAYONNAISE CO., LTD. is a commercial food manufacturer that produces and sells mayonnaise, dressings, sauces, processed egg products, salads, and side dishes to customers in various industries, including restaurants and home-cooked meals. This is the history of the development of the plant-based product from its first encounter with UMAMI UNITED JAPAN to its actual release. This is a case study interview that goes behind the scenes of open innovation between a startup company and a major food manufacturer.
The person we interviewed: Mr. Nakamoto, Product Development Manager, KENKO MAYONNAISE CO.

Q: How did you come to know about us and our products?

A. It all started when our purchasing manager at the time came across your product at the food exhibition "Fabex" in April 2022. He immediately thought, 「This is great!」 and we began to consider introducing your product. As a development manager myself, I was very interested in a company that was doing research and development on plant-based eggs, as there were an increasing number of food tech startups in the food industry.

Q: What was the background of the challenges you faced in introducing the product?

A. We are a Japanese food company that handles a wide variety of products centered on salads with the vision of “becoming the world's No.1 in salad cuisine”. In response to the global situation and changes in the environment surrounding food, we have launched “HAPPY! with VEG®︎”, a plant-based product that is free of dairy products, eggs, and meat.

The above “HAPPY! with VEGE®” series has several lineups, including a Bolognese made with soybean meat, but this is the first time that an egg salad has been made into a plant-based salad. It was an extremely difficult challenge to reproduce the flavor and coagulation of eggs without using eggs.

Q: What challenges and considerations did you face in developing the product?

A. When we introduced UMAMI EGG, we saw the potential in terms of taste and flavor, but because it was a completely new material, we struggled to establish a way to reproduce the heating coagulation action and fluffy texture we were aiming for in our product. We drew on the expertise of other development teams regarding gelatinous and coagulation properties, and verified a combination of formulation ratios and processes. During the verification of nearly 300 patterns, there was so much trial and error that it made me sigh, but now I have good memories of it .

With the addition of in-house research data, we felt a great sense of accomplishment when we were able to create a delicious product with the egg-like texture we had originally aimed for, while making good use of the elements of heating and coagulation.

Q: Could you tell us about the process leading up to the release of "MARUDE TAMAGO NO SALAD®︎"?

A. It took us about a year to decide on the formula, and about a year and a half to release the product after prototyping and production line testing. I was assigned to this project because I had just joined the company at the time, and it is usually rare for a newcomer to be in charge of product development for such a large project. The release of the product jointly developed with your company was a very good experience for me, as I was interviewed by outside media.

Q: What were some of the challenges in product development?

A. It was a very difficult path to reach the level where we could release the product as a commercial product. Compared to the small-scale prototyping in the lab, there were gaps in texture reproduction and other aspects in the process of commercialization at the factory for large-scale production, so we had to take factory suitability into account as we proceeded. With the addition of in-house research data, we were able to reproduce the egg-like texture and taste of UMAMI EGG while making full use of the heat coagulation elements of UMAMI EGG, and we were very pleased to be able to introduce a new plant-based food through this product.

Q: What are the good points of UMAMI EGG and what would you like to see improved?

A. The best part is the high reproducibility of the coagulation sensation when heated. It is very rare to find a vegetable-based material that can perform the function of an egg of coagulation when heated! Also, the convenience of being in powder form and the ability to reproduce the flavor of egg by crossing with vegetable powder are excellent points. On the other hand, if there is one thing we would like to improve, it is the viscosity unique to konjac flour and the time it takes to harden, unlike the egg powder we are used to. At first, we had a hard time getting used to the sludgy texture.

I am sure that this does not apply to all product development, but in the case of a product such as the ""MARUDE TAMAGO NO SALAD®︎" it would be even better if the solidification time could be shortened or the viscosity improved.

Q: What would you like to see in our company and our products in the future?

A. As a plant-based egg ingredient, it would be great if there were products for each functional use. Eggs have various aspects, such as the richness of the yolk's lipid and the fluffiness of the egg white, so I look forward to the development of products that specialize in different functions for different uses. We believe that it will be possible to develop products for many plant-based product groups in the future.

【Interview】Story behind the development of the Plant-based Egg Salad "MARUDE TAMAGO NO SALAD®︎"?