The Hindu Business Line : ‘Value-added’ eggs to hit market

After salt, sugar and wheat, it is the turn of the humble egg to get fortified. You will soon find eggs — brown and white — fortified with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acid at the food and vegetable bazaars.

Though not a new phenomenon, the spurt in organised retailing in the country has made poultry firms to look at the opportunity quite seriously.

An egg fortified would go at Rs 3 a piece against Rs 1.80 for the normal egg.

Suguna Poultry, the Coimbatore-based integrated poultry firm, will soon launch an ad blitz next year to expand its reach for its value added products to Delhi and Mumbai.

The company currently sells Suguna Pro, the protein and Vitamin A rich egg, in top cities in the South and Pune.

It has two more value added egg products – Suguna Heart and Suguna Active.

“We are yet to promote value added eggs. All our promotion activities will start during this month.

“We will launch in-shop promo, road shows and advertising through media and hoardings,” Dr K. Ravindran, General Manager (Marketing), Suguna Poultry Farm, told Business Line.

Sales volume low

The current volume of sales in this category is very low at the moment. “It is at a nascent stage now.

But if growth for such products in Europe is any indication, we will soon witness a steep growth in this area,” said Mr Anand, General Manager, Venkateshwara Hatcheries.

“People in metros and towns have become health conscious. The value-added eggs will soon catch their attention,” he said, commenting on the scope for fortified eggs.

Higher returns

Mr John A. Greaves, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hy-Line International, pointed out that value added eggs would mean higher returns for the farmer.

The US-based company is introducing Hy-Line Brown layer, which gives Omega-3 containing eggs.

With the market for nutrition-rich eggs growing significantly in the European Union, the focus on this segment offered a good scope for high-value exports for Indian poultry farmers.

Mr Prakash, a local poultry firm owner, however, felt that the phenomenon could be restricted to just retail chains.

“It is a premium product and may not go well with the general public. You will find them in the malls,” he observed.

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