Egga Food

EGG-SPANDING HORIZONS

PRODUCING EUROPE’S EGGS

Egga Food, based in Ospel, the Netherlands, is a European leader in cooking, peeling and colouring eggs. As consumers increasingly seek to add protein to their diet, Egga Food is leading the campaign to provide consumers with healthy and delicious eggs, arguably the best form of protein for the human body. General Manager Ton Gielen and Sara Brearley, the Sales Director for Egga Food’s distribution partner UK Egg Centre, met with Richard Hagan to talk about the company’s exciting plans to crack the British market.

One of the largest and most modern facilities of its kind in Europe, Egga Food’s egg packing centre in Ospel processes and packs several hundred million eggs of various kinds and categories each year. Its high-tech production lines are operated within the strictest hygiene guidelines by around 100 employees. These lines cook, paint, peel and pack the eggs which are delivered by certified poultry farms based in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The eggs are then distributed to other egg processing plants, wholesalers, supermarkets, food service companies and caterers across Europe and beyond.

Laying out the technology

Egga Food has three divisions, of which its packing station is the company’s beating heart. There, the incoming eggs are sorted

on a Moba egg grading machine for various purposes, including distribution to customers and further processing in the company’s dyehouse and peeler.

The eggs are rigorously checked for fractures and dirt by an automated photographic egg-inspection machine and then via automated acoustic testing, and subsequently sorted by weight and quality. “The facility’s capabilities are highly flexible,” said General Manager Ton Gielen. “We are able to process quail eggs, barn, free range and enriched intensive eggs, plus organic eggs.”

Eggs destined for the colouring plant come from young laying hens as they have a thicker and harder shell than those of older laying hens. “The plant can colour in different ways - through rolling or spraying,” said Mr Gielen. “When spraying, different motifs can be applied.

“Customers can choose from various sorting and packaging methods for the coloured eggs; they can either have all in one colour, or with six different coloured

eggs, or a random selection. We currently have five machines that enable us to package up to 1 million eggs per day during the peak season leading up to Easter.”

Egga Food’s peeling plant, meanwhile, has two production lines. The eggs, which arrive on pallets carrying 10,800 eggs, are unpacked and conditioned by a bespoke, in-house developed system that allows the eggs to be properly peeled. The eggs then travel on a conveyor belt into the cooking area, then cooled before being peeled automatically. Finally, after automated checks for scale residues, the eggs are rinsed clean, bathed again and then packaged in various forms, including specialised buckets, bags, hoppers and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).

Peeled eggs are currently Egga Food’s fastest-growing market. In addition to the company’s regular sales to the food industry, it is also enjoying increased market share in the food service companies.

Bagging the British market

Traditionally, Egga Food never had its own retail products, but several years ago it introduced its own consumer brand called ‘Egga’s’. The brand offers a resealable stand-up pouch containing either two or six boiled, peeled eggs. Egga’s is already being sold in retail and out-of-home outlets in the Netherlands, Germany, and in Scandinavia where it has steadily grown its market share.

“The boiled, peeled eggs used in Egga’s have been treated through a special process so that they also taste creamy,” said Mr Gielen. In 2023, the company began working on expanding Egga’s into the British market, and

to make that happen, Egga Food partnered with an established local distributor, UK Egg Centre. According to UK Egg Centre’s Sales Director Sara Brearley, Egga’s resealable packaging is critical to its success in the British market: “In the UK, there’s a discussion about eating eggs on different occasions during the day, beyond just breakfast.

“By giving consumers resealable packs of peeled, boiled eggs in a choice of quantities – either two or six – we’re giving them a convenient and easy way to eat eggs, whether it’s on the go, in sandwiches, with packed lunches or even just to eat at home. They can eat what they want at that meal and then reseal the package for later.”

Egga’s will launch in the UK in late 2023 and will be distributed by UK Egg Centre.

Aside from Egga’s products, UK Egg Centre also supplies cooked eggs, liquid egg for manufacturers and powdered egg products.

Care for animals & the planet

According to Mr Gielen, an ongoing worldwide shortage of eggs amidst increasing demand in Europe has sharply highlighted the ongoing need for sustainable farming and production processes. “There are many challenges relating to the climate, sustainability, consumer trends and animal welfare that we must tackle together,” he said. “If we want to answer these challenges, better coordination in the supply chain from the producer to the consumer is becoming increasingly important.”

Sara Brearley agreed: “We have a growing population and a very difficult economic environment worldwide. People need to buy good quality protein, and one of the best forms of protein at an affordable price is, of course, eggs!”

Sustainable farming practices are especially important for Egga Food, as Mr Gielen noted: “We source our eggs directly from poultry farms that we have close relationships with - we know the farmers and their businesses, and we work closely together with them to produce eggs in the most responsible way possible.

”Our farmers are all certified according to IKB, Belplume, KAT and BLK. The farmers spend each day ensuring that the chickens are as happy as possible; that way everyone is happy with the egg produced in the end.”

In closing, Sara Brearley highlighted her enthusiasm for the relationship with Egga Food: “Going forward, we plan to maintain our strong relationship and collaboration with effective communication and collaboration – not only today but tomorrow and into the future. We will continue inno vating, looking for new ways to bring eggs to the consumer’s table by working with our manufacturers and within their innovation plans.”