Dive Brief:
- Kroger has entered a partnership withKipsterFarms, which runs environmentally friendly poultry farms, to produce carbon-neutral, cage-free eggs under the grocer's Simple Truth line, according to a Wednesdaypress release.
- The grocer is relying on Kipster Farms' closed-loop production system and expects to have the eggs available in select stores in late 2022. MPS Egg Farms, a Kroger partner based in North Manchester, Indiana, has started building the first production facility usingKipster'ssystem.
- The announcement comes as Kroger furthers its sustainability efforts, while also growing its $26 billion private brands business.
Dive Insight:
Kroger said the partnership withKipsteradvances the grocer's Environmental, Social and Governance strategy, which includes a phased transition to cage-free eggs.
Founded in the Netherlands,KipsterFarms uses upcycled food as chicken feed, aims to offer improved air quality by minimizing fine particle emissions and relies on rooftop solar panels for power.Kipsteris also focused on animal welfare and makes sure its chickens receive a lot of variety, daylight and outdoor space, the announcement noted.
Kroger claimed the partnership brings "the world's first carbon-neutral, cage-free eggs to retail shelves in the U.S."
Carbon-neutral eggs have already gained ground in the United Kingdom. Earlier this year,Sainsbury'sdebuted Respectful, the first carbon-neutral eggssold in the U.K. Also in the U.K., supermarket chainMorrisonsisreportedly working to launchits own-brand carbon-neutral eggs next year and later introduce carbon-neutral produce and meat choices.
Other recent efforts by Kroger to reduce its environmental footprint include aiming to work withmore local suppliers,expanding indoor farmingand pledging to make itsprivate label packaging more sustainableby 2030.
On the private label front, the eggs are the newest addition to Kroger's own brands portfolio, which includes more than 10,000 products and generated more than $26 billion in sales in 2020. Krogerrecently brought onJuan DePaoli, who previously oversaw private label for AholdDelhaize, as its new head of store brands.
作为的一部分work to make its private label offerings more sustainable, Krogernearly doubled the volumeof its Fair Trade Certified ingredient sourcing in 2020, which reached more than 108 Simple Truth products. Meanwhile, the grocer aims to have its Private Selection brand achieve 100% Fair Trade Certified coffee sourcing from international growing regions by mid-2022.
