The New Culinary Case for Eggs

Eggs have always been a restaurant and home kitchen workhorse, but lately they have garnered new levels of respect.  

 As noted in our new Eggs: Culinary Trend Tracking Series (May 2018) report, consumers are seeking higher levels of protein in their diets—a movement favorable to eggs, with their six grams of high-quality protein.  A single egg does contain 62% of the currently recommended daily intake for cholesterol, but the new nutritional consensus is that the cholesterol level in foods should not be of special dietary concern.  And though growing consumer attention to livestock animal welfare presents a business and ethical challenge, specialty brands and product offerings are at least addressing these issues, as are related trends in the meat, poultry, and dairy cases.

While fresh eggs as grocery products have held a high and steady 93-94% usage rate over in U.S. households, according to national consumer survey data from Simmons Research, the percentage choosing to buy organic eggs notched up from 22% in 2010 to 26% in 2017.  At the same time, Simmons data show that specialty egg offerings draw a significantly high share of health-conscious food shoppers, while store brands do the reverse.  Dedicated vegetarians, for example, are nearly twice as likely to buy Land O’ Lakes, a brand line featuring organic eggs, cage-free eggs, and brown eggs with ALA Omega 3.   

Retail trends confirm higher demand for premium egg products, just as menu trends accelerate innovation, especially along multicultural, fusion, and regional specialty dish lines.