Exports prompt expansion of traditional free-range egg firm

Demand for eggs at all-time high

With demand for its award-winning free-range eggs at an all-time high, an additional 6,000 square feet of production space at its North Cadbury headquarters, Somerset, will be equipped for grading, packing and distribution.

Partner with more farms

It will allow the company to partner with more farms using the traditional flat deck production method as well as selling into the global market.

Booming global sales

Global sales are booming thanks to a business contract with Y International, a subsidiary of £1bn retail giant LuLu Group International. Y International announced earlier this year a £15m investment in a new £124,000 square foot European headquarters in Birmingham.

It counts The Traditional Free Range Egg Company, Mission Foods, which produces flatbreads in Coventury and gluten free, baked goods Welsh company Lovemore, as 3 of its suppliers. It will process, package and export about 10,000 different products from the Midlands to more than 160 hypermarkets across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Far East.

Demand for free-range eggs on the rise

Dan Wood, The Traditional Free Range Egg Company managing director, told Poultry World: “Clearly, demand for free-range eggs is on the rise both in the UK and in discerning overseas markets and it is a pleasure to have the quality of our eggs recognised.

Helping small family-run farms compete

“Ensuring a sustainable future for independent, family-run farms is at the heart of what we do at The Traditional Free Range Egg Company, so working with retailers that value our traditional farming methods is our primary concern and helps these small family-run farms compete in an ever changing market.”

The latest expansion will allow The Egg Shed site to process 50% more eggs and Mr Wood believes domestically the focus on supporting traditional free-range egg producers has borne fruit.

“We’ve done everything we can to support traditional free-range egg producers over the past few years and raise consumer awareness of the difference between flat deck free-range egg farming and other more modernised methods, so it’s incredibly rewarding to see traditional free-range eggs rising up the pecking order.”