Increasing numbers of people have grown interested in buying locally produced food, which has introduced buyers to a rainbow of colored chicken eggs. And folks seem to love them! Let me share what I’ve witnessed and what shades are selling the best. Here is how you can profit selling rainbow colored eating eggs:
Selling Rainbow Colored Eating Eggs
Farmer’s Markets are exploding in popularity as local food movements are gaining traction. Fresh eggs from pasture raised, free range and/or non-GMO fed hens are some of the most reasonably priced, healthy protein sources. Budget-conscious consumers have quickly figured this out. Many families have also discovered a love for slow food and cooking from scratch more as a way to support a nutritious diet. All of this has made selling rainbow colored eating eggs much easier…and more profitable!
Trends Influencing Rainbow Colored Egg Sales
Bowls and baskets of colored eggs on the counter or clear bins full of them in the fridge mimic many of the farmhouse lifestyle bloggers your buyers follow. They are seeing quick glimpses of bright blue, pastel green, light peach, soft cream and pretty pink eggs as favorite YouTubers crack them into scratch-made recipes. And people very much want to re-create the farmhousey aesthetic and try every color egg in their own kitchens!
Appealing, Edible Colors
Parents have been delighted to find that their children are eager to try every shade of colorful, pasture raised eggs. And eggs in every tone have made their way into the images shared online of holiday cookie baking parties. Do not underestimate rainbow hued eggs as a fun food and photo prop around the Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines and Easter baking holidays!
What Buyers Want
Consumers want pasture raised eggs from hens who consume natural grass and whole grain seeds. They tend to not understand the difference between pasture raised (fenced, secure grazing area) and free range (unimpeded open space) but they do want hens who are eating wild-growing foods. Non-GMO feed is also desirable if you must supplement with feed instead of a whole seed mix. (Afflink) Buyers do expect to see deep gold to orange colored yolks, which can be achieved by feeding wholesome peppers to your flock. If your flock must remain penned because you also grow a market garden, eggs laid by garden-fed hens is wording I’m having increasing numbers of sellers request on their custom stamps.
The Rainbow Colored Eating Eggs Buyers Desire
Blue seems to be the most popular egg color that the public wants to try. Peach and cream eggs are similar enough to common grocery store brown eggs that there is no hesitancy with them and buyers enjoy a few of these soft shades being mixed in. People also seem excited to try pastel green shades, anything pinkish colored and maybe chocolate Marans eggs. There is still some hesitancy in trying dark toned olive eggs and heavily speckled eggs, even though they all taste the same! In short, blue, pastel green, cream, and pinkish shades seem to be the favorites with one or two sage, light olive, or lightly speckled eggs piquing buyer interest.
What Should I Sell?
If you have a mixed flock that includes Easter Eggers or blue egg layers, chances are you’ve already got the colors the public wants! If you want to add breeds who lay cream eggs, consider Light Sussex, Swedish Flower Hens or Blue Andalusians (lay cream to white shades). Breeds who lay lightly tinted eggs include Salmon Faverolles, Delawares, Speckled Sussex, Silver Laced Wyandottes and Golden Laced Wyandottes. Photographing and marketing your eating eggs is the next step.
Getting Your Eggs Out There
Packaging your eggs in a clean, appealing way is of the utmost importance. You need to follow your local egg selling laws, which often includes washing the eggs and labeling the cartons with Federal Safe Handling Instructions (required to be on every carton of eggs sold in the US). You can purchase pre-printed cartons or gorgeous custom stamps with your farm name.
How Well Do Colored Eggs Sell?
H-E-B grocery store in Texas began offering their first colored egg product called Pasture Raised Heirloom Eggs in 2023. Sales exploded and the stores in my area could not keep them in stock, even though we are surrounded by hundreds of chicken keepers with colored eggs! Farmer’s market vendors both in and out of state report the same thing: rainbow egg mixes that contain blue and pastel green eggs sell quickly.
Other Suppliers are Joining In!
The Happy Egg Co is now offering a mix of blue & brown Heritage Free Range Eggs which some Kroger and Target stores carry for $7.99 per dozen. Costco has drawn attention with their 18 count all-blue Heirloom Eggs. Vital Farms is also offering True Blues pasture raised heirloom eggs, available at some Kroger and Whole Foods locations.
Blue Eggs Seem to Be the Winner!
The public is gobbling up blue eggs as fast as they appear on store shelves. If you want to add guaranteed blue egg layers to your flock, consider Whiting True Blue, Crested Cream Legbar, true Ameraucanas, Prairie Bluebell Eggers, or Americana/Easter Eggers who lay shades of aqua and blue. If you’ve been wanting to breed colored egg layers, chicks who lay blue eggs always seem to sell well!
Colored Egg Craze
As egg buyers become backyard chicken keepers themselves, it is no surprise that families want to purchase Easter Egger chicks and pullets. If you are able to keep one rooster and have thought about breeding, consider offering bright blue & green colored egg layer chicks.
Rainbow Colored Eggs Are Here to Stay!
Buyers have grown very comfortable with colored eggs and are finding them to be both wholesome and fun ways to feed their families. You can capitalize on this by offering beautiful colored eating eggs – and hatching eggs – to local buyers!
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