Booming egg demand drives growth across UK poultry sector

Britain’s appetite for eggs has surged past 200 eggs per person a year, creating major growth opportunities for producers despite mounting pressure from disease, regulation and supply constraints.

Industry leaders speaking at the Pig & Poultry Fair said changing consumer habits, rising demand for protein-rich foods and growing interest in convenience products were driving strong momentum across the egg sector.

The discussion, chaired by Aimee Mahony of the NFU, featured Nick Allen of the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC), Barney Kay of Noble Foods and Will Lea of Country Fresh Pullets.

Alongside the market optimism, the panel also highlighted mounting concerns around avian influenza, planning delays, pullet supply and regulatory uncertainty.

Nick Allen said UK egg consumption had reached around 209 eggs per capita by the end of 2025 — one of the highest levels on record.

“One of my favourite stats is that about 27,500 eggs are consumed in one way or another per minute in the UK,” he said.

“It really helps you understand just how important this sector is.”

Mr Allen said younger consumers, particularly those aged between 25 and 34, were increasingly driving demand by using eggs across a wider variety of meals and eating occasions.

“Breakfast will always remain huge, but actually tempting people in with new recipes and dishes is something we really focus on,” he said.

“That younger consumer is really driving the market.”

He added that eggs now featured in more than 10,000 retail products, underlining the scale of demand across food retail and manufacturing.

The panel also pointed to growing international demand for protein-rich foods and the increasing positioning of eggs as a natural health product.

Convenience-led protein snacking was identified as one of the fastest-growing retail categories, with boiled egg snack pots seeing particularly strong growth.

“Do you know what the biggest growth area is in snacking at the moment from a retailer point of view? Boiled eggs in pots,” Mr Kay said.

“People on the go want something healthy, convenient and easy.”

He said Noble Foods was seeing “massive growth” in boiled egg products as consumers increasingly looked for healthier convenience foods and protein snacks.

Mr Kay also highlighted expansion across branded shell eggs, organic ranges and added-value egg products.

“There is great opportunity in egg innovation,” he said. "There is plenty to go at in liquid egg, prepared products and added value formats.”

The panel discussed how UK egg consumption could continue rising further, with comparisons drawn to countries such as Mexico where annual consumption levels are significantly higher.

Mr Allen said maintaining consumer confidence remained essential to sustaining long-term growth.

“The Lion has driven confidence for consumers,” he said. "It is about continually pushing that message out there with confidence and telling the story.”

Disease pressure remains one of the sector’s biggest concerns.

Mr Kay said producers needed to focus on practical biosecurity measures and staff training to reduce risk.

“We are looking at what is within our control,” he said. "Training is fundamental.”

He said Noble Foods was working alongside biosecurity specialists Livetec to help producers improve site security, visitor management and contamination controls.

“There is an awful lot you can do as businesses yourselves to keep disease out,” he added.

Will Lea said pullet rearers were also facing growing pressure from disease restrictions and bird movement licensing controls.

He explained that rearing farms often operated as mixed or multi-age sites, creating additional complexity when restrictions were introduced.

“Our biggest challenge is dealing with that and understanding the hurdles,” he said. "We cannot just pause the pullets in rear.”

Mr Lea also warned licensing decisions could sometimes depend heavily on how farms appeared “on paper”, including factors such as mixed enterprises or farm shops operating on site.

The panel also explored the growing use of white egg layers across the sector.

White birds are increasingly attracting interest because they can remain productive for longer and often deliver improved feed efficiency compared with traditional brown flocks.

“As a business, Country Fresh Pullets has been doing about 12% white and that is growing every year,” Mr Lea said.

He said longer flock cycles for white birds had helped ease some pressure on rearing space, although questions remained around consumer perceptions of white eggs.

Mr Kay said retailers and producers were showing growing interest in white flocks because of their longevity and feed conversion benefits.

However, concerns were raised over future rearing capacity. "“Rearing is going to be the pinch point for the industry,” Mr Kay warned.

The discussion also highlighted mounting frustration over planning delays and regulatory uncertainty despite continued strong consumer demand.

Mr Kay argued government needed to adopt a more practical and proportionate approach to risk management.

“You cannot eliminate risk from a legislative point of view,” he said. "Risk is with us all the time.”

Mr Allen added that uncertainty around future regulation was making investment decisions increasingly difficult for producers.

“There is no stability,” he said. "It always feels like one department is working against the other.”

However, producers continue to face uncertainty over disease outbreaks, input costs and future investment conditions.

Despite the challenges, the panel said major opportunities remained across shell eggs, prepared foods, snacking and foodservice.

The discussion reflected growing confidence in long-term egg demand, even as producers face rising pressure to expand capacity, strengthen biosecurity and navigate increasingly complex regulation.