United Kingdom – where the free range egg is king

Following our 2022 survey of the UK egg market, we’re once again sharing some key learnings from the qualitative GfK study of grocery shoppers for the benefit of producers, egg marketers and retailers. This is our 2^nd UK study, the previous one having been in 2016.

Haven’t seen our GfK surveys yet? Check out our consumer segments.

The UK’s consumption level of organic and barn eggs is relatively low, whilst appetite for free range eggs is high. In fact, the UK has the highest free range egg consumption in Europe, and the comparatively low level of Don’t know (11%) answers highlights the fact that the vast majority of consumers are making a conscious purchase choice. Buying 4.0 eggs per person, per week, the UK is amongst the top markets for weekly egg purchases.

Organic eggs are currently more popular than they were in 2016 – and are now the second most likely type of eggs to be bought after free range. Organic products are seen on the one hand to be positive for the environment, but on the other, they’re considered overpriced. This negative attitude is a likely inhibitor of growth in the UK, although (since 1 in 5 don’t understand the difference between organic and other products), a programme of education may help improve attitudes. Overall, future inclination towards purchasing organic products is largely positive or neutral.

More than half of the consumers in the UK can be classified as highly-engaged segments - i.e. 51% are interested in egg products, are very interested in knowing more about the egg and its origin, and have a comprehensive opinion about what they want to consume. Overall, all segments in the UK - even the medium (28%) or less (21%) engaged segments - agree on the topic of climate protection and the UK also scores highest of all tested markets on the importance of recyclable packaging.

The CO₂ neutral option is a powerful concept which can be used by producers to increase sales of top-value products or brands. In our study the areas tested for the concept were:

• Appeal: 79%
• Uniqueness (new and different): 59%
• Relevance: 66%
• (Unpriced) purchase intent 70%

GfK surveys commissioned by Hartmann
Consumer segmentation studies for the egg category are available for 13 European countries and 4 American states:

Austria | Belgium | Croatia | Denmark | Finland | France | Germany | Italy
| Norway | Poland | Sweden | Switzerland | UK
California | New York | Pennsylvania | Texas

For more information please contact our Marketing department: marketing@hartmann-packaging.com or liaise with your local Hartmann Sales Manager.