CATEGORY LEADERSHIP AWARDS EGG BITES

Egg bites provide a long-lasting amount of protein that prevents gnawing hunger pangs and mood and energy dips between meals. Egg bites can serve as a healthy and convenient breakfast in the car on the way to school or work or at their desk, but that doesn’t mean they are limited to breakfast time. Rather, egg bites can be devoured on the way to the gym or golf course to help push consumers through a workout or a four-hour round.

As makers of Three Bridges Egg Bites, Valley Fine Foods has established a strong leading presence in the category. “What I’m seeing in the egg bites category is there’s been a lot of players introduced into the category—some good and some bad—and what we’re finding is you have to have a really good product for it to work in the marketplace,” said Valley Fine Foods CEO Todd Nettleton. “And it’s going to divide into two specific types of products; there’s people who love the sous vide product that they can buy at Starbucks and then there’s the people who buy our product that love the baked product. What I’m seeing, from a different standpoint, is the people who love our product are usually very focused on health and very focused on convenience. Our product can be made in a minute. Most of the sous vide products need to be put into an air fryer or a toaster oven and can take up to 10 minutes. So we are seeing a divergent break in the category right now into two areas—baked or sous vide—and we think there’s going to be room for both of them so that’s going to be an important change to the category, but also many major players try to enter the category and fail because their product wasn’t good."

"People have voted with their stomachs and picked the brands they think are the best and as the leading egg bite player, we are very confident we have a great product, but we are going to continue to make sure we earn their trust every day," he added.

“Consumers are supporting brands that deliver on taste, quality and social impact,” said Kelly Slentz, Organic Valley's Senior Associate Marketing Manager. “Consumers are looking for the best possible ingredients that are nutrient packed and flavorful. Customers and consumers can see that social impact in our Impact Report.”

“Organic Valley is the only brand offering an organic egg bite option,” Slentz continued. “The hens that lay the nutrient-packed eggs used in Egg Bites have regular access to outdoor foraging, weather permitting, and indoor facilities to express their natural behaviors, from scratching to roosting. As a leader in pasture-based, regenerative organic farming, Organic Valley works with nature, not against it. We aim to become the first major dairy brand to reduce farm emissions without relying on carbon offsets. The CCIP, or CROPP Carbon Insetting Program, is designed to help Organic Valley reach carbon neutrality through real-world, on-farm sustainability programs. Some of the practices include planting trees, improved manure management, renewable energy, energy efficiency, agroforestry and enhanced grazing and cropland practices.”

Although California has enacted laws requiring companies to abide by sustainability-centric practices, Valley Fine Foods didn’t need legislation to motivate the company to look for ways to do its part towards a sustainable future. “Some of the laws force us to be cutting-edge, but we have always been focused on that as a company. A couple of things that are important: all of our products are made with cage-free eggs,” Nettleton said. “It’s ethically right and it continues to be the right thing for our industry; that’s a big one. Power and energy are really important. We have solar at our facilities. We make sure we are doing a good job leveraging earth’s natural resources because we are a food plant and we use a decent amount, so how do we do it in a sustainable way is important for us. As I look to the future, this one is the hardest and most complicated. How do we reduce plastic? We have not unlocked a way to do it without plastic, but it is an active workstream in our company to try to reduce our amount of waste going into the landfill.”

“Every Organic Valley product is made with nutrient-dense organic ingredients,” Slentz said. “ Our more than 1,600 farmers follow strict standards that protect people, animals and the planet. All purchases of our products directly contribute to preserving these valuable farming communities.”