Egg market growth in the UK is being driven by younger consumers, with egg consumption among 16–24 year old women up by 27% over the past two years, according to the results of new analysis carried out on behalf of the British Egg Industry Council.
The same research also highlighted breakfast as the big growth point in the day for egg usage, with the first meal of the day delivering an 18% increase in egg consumption in the last two years.
“The resurgence in egg consumption has been remarkable and has clearly been driven by the return to eggs at breakfast, by consumers at both end of the age spectrum,” said Kantar Worldpanel’s Pernille Fladsrud.
She also said that eggs are increasingly being chosen for health and convenience reasons while, perhaps surprisingly, home baking is actually on the decline, both generally and for eggs.
“Health is the main driver, with an increasing number of consumers saying it is the reason for their choosing eggs,” said Ms Fladsrud. “Scrambled (+13%) and poached (+9%) are the fastest growing choices, with consumers choosing these for health reasons.”
Egg consumption resulting from home baking has fallen over the past two years, however, in line with a 7% decline in the overall number of home baking consumption occasions.
“Despite the popularity of TV baking shows, home baking is in steady decline, following a brief period of growth after The Great British Bake Off first launched,” said Ms Fladsrud.
In addition to the egg sector boost coming from younger age groups, older consumers are also contributing, having increased their consumption levels by 5% over the past two years. Health was once again the top reason given for the growth in usage.
