By the end of 2022, the number of companies that have committed to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs in China has reached nearly 150. It is worth noting that in 2020, the number of committed enterprises will only be about 50; This means that within three years, the number has tripled. These companies are all on the verge of switching to cage-free eggs by 2025 (and some by 2027 or 2030).
Cage-free eggs are eggs laid by laying hens living in a cage-free environment, whether in or out of the house. Globally, there are more than 2,000 enterprises committed to purchasing caged eggs, of which 150 operating in China, from early Unilever, Starbucks, Nestle, and even Burger King, Papa John's, Peter's Coffee, KFC, Zoo Group, etc. have issued commitments in the past two years, these enterprises must purchase a large number of eggs every year. Contains shell eggs, egg liquid, egg powder, etc.
When announcing the pledge, the company said publicly: "We will work with our suppliers to make all the eggs we use cage-free, which is very important to the company and our customers."
"The commitment to cage-free eggs is part of the Zoo Group's philosophy, and we will use China as a starting point to gradually expand to other places," said Li Jing, founder of the group.
In view of the high safety of cage-free eggs, and the concern of the purchasing side for animal welfare and sustainable development, more and more laying companies have joined the ranks of cage-free eggs. In addition to the new cage-free enterprises such as Happy Egg, Shanxi GuanYongao, Pingyao Weihai, etc., the more large-scale traditional laying enterprises including Tiancheng, Shendan, Oufu, Hanwei, Guangyang, also began to try cage-free.
Despite the growth seen on the supply side, it still takes more time for food companies to find a stable, sufficient supply of cage-free egg suppliers that meet their individual needs. Therefore, in order to assist the procurement needs of food enterprises, Torque China and the Beijing Egg Processing and Sales Industry Association (referred to as "Beijing Egg Association") will join hands this year to tender for the procurement of cage-free eggs for the promised enterprises, inviting qualified laying enterprises to participate. It is worth mentioning that in addition to the egg-laying enterprises that already have cage-free production capacity, this project also welcomes the participation of suppliers who are about to enter this type of egg production and are interested in working with buyers to put into production.
Wang Zhongqiang, secretary-general of the Beijing Egg Processing and Sales Association, said: "The aim of this bidding project is to purchase cage-free eggs that meet safety standards and have a stable supply, and to ensure that the supply and demand sides match each other in terms of logistics, packaging and delivery time to ensure egg quality and procurement efficiency."
"We have seen that many laying enterprises are about to join the cage-free egg bidding project, ready to meet the procurement needs of different quantities and different egg forms for buyers from retail, catering, FMCG, group meals and other industries," added Huang Muci, project director of Torque China.
Established in 2014, the Beijing Egg Processing and Sales Industry Association plays a connecting role in promoting the development of China's egg industry by uniting enterprises and individuals related to egg production, processing, distribution and egg industry chain. Headquartered in Shanghai, Torque China is committed to protein upgrading work, and also provides free consulting services for food and layer enterprises to transition to cage-free.
