Morrisons has launched a trial that could revolutionise the way eggs are sold in the country's fourth biggest supermarket chain.
The retailer says it is introducing pick-your-own egg stands in some of its stores - a return, it says, to the "farm shop style" of selling eggs. It could well be seen as a return to the retailer's roots, as Morrisons started out on a market in Yorkshire in 1899, when founder William Morrison sold eggs and butter from a stall.
The new trial will allow customers to select their own free range hens eggs - based on their size, colour, shape and speckles. They will also be able to buy anything from one single egg in a recycled box to thirty eggs in a tray. The pick-your-own free range eggs will range in size from 63 grammes to 73grammes and will be priced at 22 pence each, £1 for six, or £5 for 30.
“Some customers told us they wanted to select their own eggs to ensure none were cracked and to buy the exact amount they needed," said Robert Hofman, egg buyer at Morrisons. "We thought re-introducing a traditional pick-your-own local eggs stand would help to do this.
“In trials customers have told us that they love selecting their own eggs, have found it has cut down on waste in their homes and love buying produce from their local area.”
Morrisons says the pick-your-own local eggs stands are being introduced in 200 of its stores across the country.
'Tradition'
This latest initiative would appear to follow a trend of reverting to tradition. Morrisons has already enjoyed great success with its 'wonky vegetable' initiative.
Kantar Worldpanel figures recently indicated that sales of misshapen fruit and vegetables had more than tripled the 12-week period up to June 17 this year.
“Consumers have responded very well to Morrisons’ wonky fruit and vegetable lines – these have more than tripled in sales and now feature in 12 per cent of baskets, helping the retailer’s cheapest tier of own label products grow by a remarkable 18 per cent," said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.
“The retailer was also helped by double digit growth in online sales, though its overall share fell by 0.1 percentage points to 10.6 per cent."
Sourced from Britain
Morrisons is unusual amongst British supermarkets in making more than half of the fresh food it sells. The supermarket's factories make it the country's second largest fresh food manufacturer.
Earlier this year it bought the Yorkshire egg company Chippindale Foods in what is thought to be the first time in the United Kingdom that an egg packing company has been bought by a leading retailer.
Morrisons says the pick-your-own free range eggs will be sourced from farms from across Britain. It says it is launching the initiative to reassure customers that their eggs won’t be cracked or smaller than expected.
The pick-your-own scheme will also help cater for smaller or larger households and reduce waste, it says. Currently, dairy and eggs account for nine per cent of food thrown away in the home, according to WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme). To further reduce waste, Morrisons is encouraging customers to purchase their first set of eggs then re-use their egg box on each return visit.
