Speciality egg sales up 8.8%

Speciality eggs - from ducks, quails, or speciality hen breeds such as Copper Maran - saw an 8.8% volume sales growth and 9.5% value growth in the year ending March 2017.

This is according to UK market statistics from Nielsen. Speciality eggs also hit a retail sales value of £26.8m.

At the same time, in 2016 foodservice egg sales made up 23% of overall egg sales, according to figures from the British Egg Industry Council, with retail sales making up 54%, a 5% increase, of the 12.6 billion eggs eaten in the UK last year, a figure up 2% on the year before.

Noble Foods launched its Heritage Breeds range last month exclusively to the foodservice sector, including hen and duck eggs from handpicked British farms, including special breeds such as Copper Marans, Royal Legbar (pictured) and Gladys Mays.

Geraldine Phillips, marketing director for consumer foods division, Noble Foods, said: "Eggs have seen tremendous growth in recent years and nowhere more so than in the speciality sector. Consumers are increasingly seeking out the higher quality and taste of speciality eggs and we believe that heritage breeds will fill a real gap in a quickly emerging market."

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