DID THESE COMPANIES KEEP THEIR PROMISES?

Eggsposé 2025 hero

DID THESE COMPANIES KEEP THEIR PROMISES?

Major food manufacturers made public commitments to stop buying eggs laid by hens in cages. Years later, have they kept their word? Our report—2026 Eggsposé: The State of Cage-Free in the US Food Manufacturing Industry—has the answer.



EVERY SOURCING DECISION IS A BRAND DECISION

Building customer trust is no longer optional. It’s the core competitive challenge. Consumers increasingly evaluate brands not just on what’s in the package, but on what’s behind it: how a product is sourced, whether a company’s claims hold up, and whether its practices match its messaging. Cage-free commitments are public, verifiable, and one of the clearest measures of whether a brand keeps its word.

This report—the latest in our annual Eggsposé series—evaluates US food and beverage manufacturers on their progress toward 100% cage-free egg sourcing. Most of these companies made public animal welfare commitments years ago, with deadlines that have now passed. The majority followed through. But some removed their policies, and others stopped reporting on their progress altogether.

The cage-free transition is well underway, and the companies that completed it have demonstrated that it works.

READ THE REPORT

WHAT THE 2026 EGGSPOSÉ REPORT REVEALS

  • Companies like The Campbell’s Company, PepsiCo, and The Hershey Company—which reached 100% cage-free sourcing—have proven it’s achievable. Laggards are making a choice, not facing a major challenge.
  • Products carrying ESG-related claims have grown 8% faster than those without them.
  • Producer investment is moving decisively toward cage-free housing, and caged egg production capacity is dramatically shrinking, bringing supply stability and price predictability to companies that transition.
  • In a market where private-label and disruptor brands are ready to absorb customers, trust undone by a single broken pledge is likely to not come back.

85% OF US ADULTS SURVEYED OPPOSE CONFINING HENS IN CAGES

Cage confinement is the most opposed practice in all of animal agriculture.

In cage systems, each hen is given less floor space than a standard sheet of paper—unable to spread her wings, perch, nest, or dustbathe, all strong instinctual behaviors essential to her welfare.

Extreme cage confinement is indefensible. The companies that removed their commitments, or aren’t reporting on them, haven’t changed the reality of what cages do to animals. They’ve simply chosen to ignore it.

  • The reality of the situation (is) we are fully cage-free here in Michigan, and yet our egg costs have remained low… We spent more than a decade getting ready, converting barns, raising birds in the appropriate environment. We think it’s good for the birds. We think it’s working.

    –Nancy Barr, Executive Director of Michigan Allied Poultry Industries

THE DIRECTION OF THE MARKET IS UNAMBIGUOUS

Producers, farmers, consumers, and lawmakers are all moving the same way. The full report shows how food companies are rated; here’s what the evidence says.

Supply

At the current trajectory, more than half of all US hens will be living cage-free by 2027. Caged capacity is rapidly shrinking as investment flows the other way.

Farmers

63% of farmers surveyed support cage-free laws like California’s Prop 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3. Not one surveyed farmer opposed them.

Consumers

80% would support a state-level ban on cages for farm animals, and 72% of Gen Z shoppers look for animal welfare when choosing food.

The market

Products carrying ESG-related claims such as “cage-free” averaged 28% cumulative growth over five years, versus 20% for products without them.

State laws

10 states have banned the production and/or sale of eggs from caged hens, Prop 12 and Question 3 each passed with over 60% voter approval, and no state has ever repealed a cage-free law.

Pet owners

90% would switch brands if they knew another brand sourced from farms that treat animals better; animal welfare outweighs sustainability in purchasing behavior.

SET THE BAR FOR BRESPONSIBLE SOURCING

The laggards have had years—in some cases an entire decade—to fulfill cage-free commitments they made. Read the full report for the complete company performance ratings and sector analysis.

READ THE REPORTTALK TO OUR TEAM