Egglife Provides Tasty + Clean Low-Carb Options
A low-carb lifestyle isn’t for everyone with diabetes but for those who do enjoy low-carb options, a new brand with a variety of products is exciting! One of those emerging brands is Egglife Foods, a company that uses cage-free eggs instead of flour to reimagine traditionally carb-heavy foods.
Beyond Type 1 sat down with Egglife’s Chief Marketing Officer, Andrea Schwenk, to learn how Egglife got started and the company’s commitment to helping people with diabetes.
Founded with a mission to provide better low-carb options
When Egglife founder, Peggy Johns, was told by her doctor to avoid carbohydrates and focus on protein to manage some health concerns, the idea for Egglife was “hatched.” Like many others, she found that the low-carb market didn’t offer the variety or the taste she was looking for—so she set out to create something different.
“The low-carb options out there had a long list of ingredients, and they just didn’t have the protein and versatility she [Johns] was looking for,” Schwenk explained. “She was convinced there had to be a better way to eat clean and have food freedom—the ability to indulge in her favorite foods without sacrificing taste.”
A “savant” in the kitchen, Johns began experimenting with eggs. She knew a lot about the household staple and how they worked in cooking, discovering ways to replace flour with eggs in various recipes.
After Johns made her first series of wraps at home, she brought them to work, where many people encouraged her “magical” skills with eggs, and in 2017, Egglife was born.
Today, the Egglife brand offers five delicious wrap flavors—original, everything bagel, southwest, Italian and sweet cinnamon—and is available in over 11,000 retail locations, including Aldi, Target, Sam’s Club and more.
Connections to diabetes
From the beginning of Egglife’s story, the company made a commitment to “reimagine the future of food.” As part of that goal, Egglife has also committed to helping provide cleaner and tastier low-carb options for people with diabetes and celiac disease.
While not all people with diabetes have to follow or are advised to follow low-carb/high-protein diets, products like Egglife can help people with diabetes who need or prefer to.
“Many of our consumers have let us know that our Egglife egg white wraps have been game-changing for them,” Schwenk said. “One group that really emerged as resonating with the product is people with diabetes. One of our Egglife board members lives with type 2 diabetes, and several people on our team, myself included, experienced gestational diabetes during pregnancy.”
“We’re constantly listening to our consumers, and we often hear from consumers with specific medical conditions or ones that follow specific dietary lifestyles,” Schwenk said. “Having that personal understanding and appreciation of the foods you consume and how they affect your body when you have diabetes makes what we do all the more meaningful.”
Egglife’s digital cookbook + commitment to “Better Choices for Life”
In June, Egglife created a free digital cookbook with Taste of Home that showcases a variety of fun “wrap hacks.” These hacks highlight ways people can use Egglife egg white wraps to reimagine their favorite foods that typically feel off-limits.
Egglife worked with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) as a guide throughout the recipe development process.
“We are very proud that our original Egglife wraps are part of the American Diabetes Association’s Better Choices for Life Program,” Schwenk said. “This is a good identifier for people with diabetes that the product is approved—something they can feel good about putting in their shopping basket.”
The Better Choices for Life program brings the ADA’s evidence-based guidelines and perspective directly to the store so people with diabetes can feel more informed about their dietary choices.
All Egglife wraps comprise 95 percent egg whites. Some flavors feature spices or are sweetened with monk fruit. The wraps are keto and paleo-friendly, grain-free, gluten-free, soy-free and dairy-free. All wraps contain 25 to 35 calories and 5 to 6 grams of protein.
Fueling + inspired by NYC marathon runners
Egglife’s commitment to diabetes doesn’t stop there. In summer 2022, the company announced its sponsorship of Beyond Type 1’s New York City marathon team, leading up to American Diabetes Month and the NYC marathon in November.
Schwenk hopes Egglife can deliver an ounce of the inspiration that the Beyond Type Run marathon team provides her.
“For a lot of people, running the NYC marathon is a bucket list item—I have the deepest respect for people that are able to accomplish that goal,” Schwenk said. “For us to be able to help fuel runners in a meaningful way is exciting for us. Being able to support people with diabetes in accomplishing that feat is amazing.”
This content is made possible with support from Egglife, an active partner of Beyond Type 1 at the time of publication.
