Hi Veronica. To get us started: How do you explain to people what you do?
I always say we are creating an alternative to eggs, and I explain why. That’s where I start. Most people don’t know that eggs are negatively affecting the environment, or that eggs are one of the most underdeveloped categories in the plant-based food sector.
And what is your role?
I’m the founder and CEO of Neggst, but my background is in science. I developed the initial prototype that got the company started. I wanted to create a product that replicates exactly what a chicken egg does, because from a product standpoint, the chicken egg is amazing. It gives us so many different textures and functionalities. That being said, essentially all products that exist in the vegan egg market today focus on just one of these functions. One is for foaming, one is for baking and one is for scrambling. When we started, the goal was to create one solution for everything.
Okay, but why eggs — for you personally?
I mean, Mexico is one of the biggest consumers of eggs per capita, and I think I was even above that average. I ate a lot of eggs.
Veronica, photographed in Berlin
In Mexico, I had a colleague who regularly had tacos from a street vendor for lunch, while I was bringing my homemade salads — super healthy. Then we were in a health group together and we got our blood tested, and she had perfect values while I had super high cholesterol. It drove me nuts, I thought it must be genetics because my dad also has high cholesterol.
When I came to Germany and stopped eating animal products, including eggs, my blood tests were perfect all of a sudden. Like they had never been so good.
So, now you’re working on replacing eggs, and you’re working on a product with a shell. It feels like for consumers who are maybe not fully educated on the impact of factory farming, buying a product in a plastic bottle seems counter-intuitive — is that your line of thinking here?
Yes. We love the idea and have prototypes, so there is an understanding of how we can make it happen. The only question is how much budget needs to be invested to get things like the hand-feel right, as the shell is basically going to be the product’s packaging in the end. We’re still looking into other packaging options, maybe there is something even more suitable out there.
If we were to go with the shell, we would be using a kind of fermented, biodegradable polymer with calcium. So, it’s still a plastic, but it decomposes really easily. You can put it in the compost and it will completely degrade. We use calcium to create the texture, which creates a haptic sensation that feels like a chicken egg.
Fascinating. What other developments are keeping you occupied right now?
What’s keeping me up at night is the general startup environment at the moment. Thankfully, we’re in a good place, we’re not raising money right now. There are opportunities, but we’re not in a rush. What’s been tough is seeing other companies struggling, especially when you know they really have that passion, where the founders are in it for all the right reasons.
”Investment money in plant-based food is drying up — but I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world.“
On the other hand, we have been making great progress in sales. We just won new distributors in France and Spain and are in the middle of negotiating something for the Netherlands. That gives me a good feeling, seeing that the category is growing, and that people are requesting these products. There’s hope.
How much of the recent developments in the plant-based food category, would you say, is just the result of a bubble, and a market that is self-correcting.
Oh, there definitely was a bubble. I think a lot of investments were done without proper due diligence, which put other companies — the ones that actually have the right background and the right product — on the line, making it hard for them to receive funding. I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world that the money has been drying up, because now, those who have real IP, the innovation and the sustainable growth capabilities, will be chosen with more care.
So you’re hoping for smarter money. But isn’t there another side to it? It feels like we’re in the middle of a larger cultural backlash, that strongly influences the category — wouldn’t you agree?
I think there’s definitely a reorientation. The core vegan movement is not really growing but it is more stable. People have grown more skeptical in general, yes, but I do see our category growing — both in Europe and in the US. The egg category was already a bit stronger over there, and we now see people requesting it more in Europe as well. Don’t forget that we had two years of really intense chicken flu and that now even people that commercialize chicken products are coming to us because they ran into massive problems with supply and rising prices.
You knew very early on that you wanted to work with food. You were 11, right?
I always loved food. I have also always been quite disciplined with school and with my interest in science. I was always the first one up in the morning, and so I would eat breakfast alone. I loved cereal and I would always finish the games on the back of the cereal box on the first day, so I would turn to see the ingredients and nutritional values. It really made me curious: How do they transform these ingredients into what I am eating? How do they know how many carbohydrates or how much protein is in it? So, I was really intrigued, even at 11, and I knew I wanted to do something with food.
When I was 13, I became aware of food chemistry, but I imagined it as being stuck in a lab, while I wanted to have a full overview of the process. That’s why I ended up studying food engineering for my bachelor’s degree in Mexico City.
In the Berlin office with the Neggst team
What was your connection to nature like growing up in Mexico City?
We always had pets growing up. From dogs to hamsters, fish and turtles. My mom was always rescuing animals and bringing them to the vet, and then finding them a home or releasing them.
We also had a tiny garden, which my mom and I took good care of. My mom was all for respecting the planet. For instance, she would always make us separate the trash. In Mexico, all the trash ends up together anyway, but my mom made us use different bins regadless. We had one for organic waste, one for paper, one for plastic and so on.
I was like “why do we do this if it all goes to the same old place”, and my mom said “at least we do our part right.” To this day, this is inspiring me. Back then, I thought it was weird, but now I think it worked because I grew up with awareness. And it was so satisfying when I came to Germany because it’s already the rule here. Finally I could put my trash where it’s supposed to go.
So, you learned to take responsibility for your animal companions and nature really early. What does it mean to you now?
When I was studying for my Bachelor of Food Engineering, we had a class for meat, one for dairy and so on. I wasn’t vegan then and we were shown shocking videos showing how these foods are made. I mean, the videos were for educational purposes, but I went weeks afterwards without eating a product that was the subject of the video.
The more I learnt about sustainability and animal welfare, the more I felt like I had to do something.
For me, the egg in particular is really important, because nobody really sees the harm behind egg production. You picture these backyard hens and think no animals are being killed, which makes it easy to ignore the much darker reality.
Your parents are entrepreneurs as well, right?
Yes. My dad has his own company which he started at around 40 — he’s now 65. He’s a civil engineer who works on tunnels and went down his own path because he felt too constrained from what he wanted to do and how he wanted to grow. It was hard, he often worked 6-day weeks, 12 hours a day, and we mostly never went on family vacations in the early years.
My mom is a lawyer and she had her own practice. She kept it flexible until we were in university.
”I was a nerd and I hated holidays.“
Which lessons did you absorb from watching them?
I would say keeping it authentic. Both my parents love their work, and they weren’t in it just for the money. They were passionate about what they did — and still are.
They also treat people fairly. Empathy is a foundational aspect I carry through my role as a CEO today.
They also passed on their drive and hunger for knowledge. I liked to go to school. I like to learn new stuff. I was definitely a nerd, and I hated holidays. I hated them because my mom would make me do tons of chores around the house. I would always prefer to be at school learning.
Discipline from my parents also came with responsibility for animals. Walking the dogs, giving them baths, changing the hamsters’ cages — that sort of thing.
In the Neggst lab, Berlin
What made you pick Germany of all countries you could have gone to for your Master’s?
I began looking abroad for further study, and applied for a scholarship. I got it and then came to Germany.
I was a tall kid. My grandpa always told me if I kept growing taller, I would never find a husband in Mexico, and that I would have to go to Germany. For some reason, that stuck with me. Not the husband thing but Germany as the place to be. But like I said, I was always interested in science and I picked up that Germany was great for my discipline.
I didn’t want to do my master’s right away because I wanted to know what I liked and what I didn’t. So, I worked at PepsiCo in Mexico doing quality analysis. I liked the team, but not the job. I didn’t want to be on the computer all day. It felt repetitive and I got bored very easily.
”With my science background, I had to prove I could fill the role of CEO.“
You developed the first Neggst prototype during your studies, is that correct?
Yeah, exactly. After the master’s, I did my PhD in pea proteins. Essentially, I was looking into how to make pea protein a better, more functional, and tasty ingredient.
The “raw egg” project started as a side endeavour from my PhD and after a little over a year, I presented it to some partners and investors, and they really liked it. They told me this needs to be brought to market and I became a co-founder. At some point, I took over the CEO position, and now I’m the sole remaining founder.
That sounds like quite a journey. Do you remember the moment that tested you the most?
It’s been a rollercoaster. I would say the jump to the CEO position was the most challenging to me — like, I had to really prove that I could fill that role. With my science background, I had no real business experience, and being able to cross that barrier while facing the doubt from investors and partners was quite tough in the beginning.
I would also say that having to let people go was really tough. In 2022, we were quite a big team and when I took over the lead, we restructured and I had to let go of more than half of us. That was really tough, and I doubt it will ever become easy for me.
How did you navigate that?
It’s just hard. It’s challenging to separate the person and the job because I like the people we had to let go. Often, it’s not performance, just the case that it was a position we didn’t need filled at that point in time, and that’s just unfortunate.
In other cases, it’s maybe that the attitude of a person doesn’t align with what the company needs in a certain phase. I believe that experience and technical skills can be learned, but if the mindset isn’t there, it can get tough.
You said before that empathy is a foundational value for you.
I think there’s a fine line, right? I’m open with my team when there are challenges and I think they are open with me. Empathy is a two-way street as they say, and I think my team is as empathetic as I am.
But there is a balance. We need to make sure our responsibilities are met and sometimes of course there are conflicts but we solve them together and with respect.
”Everyone has my trust until shown otherwise.“
You’re an immigrant, a woman, and a scientist. In the start-up world, I imagine each of these roles comes with its own limitations. Can you talk a bit about that?
The immigrant role is easy. I can’t compare founding in Germany to what it would have been like to start Neggst in Mexico. I simply don’t know, I’ve never done it. So to me, it’s the female aspect that’s been most challenging.
I know a lot of other female founders that have immigrant backgrounds, and they’re struggling — but I know German female founders, too, and they’re struggling in similar ways, nationality doesn’t seem to matter here.
There is also a language barrier. It has been challenging having to pitch our company in German, but I have to, especially to potential customers as most of our contacts are German men over 45.
Let’s look into the future. What would ultimate success for Neggst look like?
We want to be the leaders in the alternative egg industry. We have the product. We have the IP. We have advanced far into development and now are just focusing on scaling up. I’m always welcoming competition, because that’s what will make us better. We need to push each other because I want this category to grow, and I want Neggst grow with it. I want to lead the next set.
Veronica, photographed in the studio in Berlin
Finally, if someone who is reading this feels stuck in any way — creatively, professionally, or otherwise — do you have an insight from your life that could help them get unstuck?
Take a step back. I think of myself as a resilient person, so I don’t need a lot to get back on track, but there are some moments that I need to pause. Go for a run, go to the gym, and sweat it out.
Sometimes I take the afternoon off and just think. I do journaling, which really helps me get some perspective. I think it helps to put it all down and come back later to look over it for context and progress.
Veronica, thank you for sharing and taking the time to be with us.
I had fun, thank you for having me.
Dr. Veronica Garcia-Arteaga is a Mexican-German food scientist, innovator, and the founder of Neggst.
With a background in food technology from the Technical University of Berlin and years of research at the Fraunhofer Institute, she led the development of the world’s first plant-based egg that mimics the complex structure of a chicken egg, including the shell, white, and yolk. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between nutritional science and culinary tradition to create a more ethical and climate-friendly future.
For information on Veronica and Neggst, visit:
