As many as 40 multinational and domestic companies in Vietnam are starting to use cage-free eggs in their production, as part of their goal to embrace the circular economy while at the same time meeting consumer demand. These companies come from the HoReCa as well as from the manufacturing segment and they include Mondelez, Fusion Hotel Group and Pizza4P’s amongst others whom have committed to sourcing only cage-free eggs in Vietnam by 2025.
Cage-free production improves animal welfare as chickens are allowed to roam freely in a natural environment and engage in their natural behaviour such as perching and dustbathing. This method of production is supported by animal rights groups as well as consumers.
Mondelez Kinh Do Vietnam has become the pioneer in using cage-free eggs when it launched Solite Nature Fresh cake at the end of 2022. Mondelez 3rd Annual State of Snacking Report highlighted that consumers are more concerned of the brands and companies they buy from and have become more discerning over the sustainable nature of their chosen snacks. In fact, 85% of global consumers aimed to buy snacks from companies that offset their environmental footprint. Cage-free eggs can be an important part of meeting the sustainability ambition as ‘eggs’ comprise quite a big portion of ingredients in certain food, bakery and snack products.
Meanwhile, there are also many domestic producers of cage-free eggs such as Nam Huong, Vinh Thah Dat and Green Connect.
In 2021, Vietnam had nearly 77 million chickens which laid 8.2 billion eggs, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. There are thousands of egg producers in the country, with varying sizes of production. As such, the movement towards cage-free production is still long way to go with ample room for growth as global food companies are fast transitioning to cage-free eggs in their production at an unprecedented rate. Vietnam is still far from its goal if compared to the US where cage-free eggs made up 35% of the total egg-laying flocks in the US.