Gelson's, Kings, King Kullen to transition to cage-free eggs

With many of the nation’s largest retailers promising to transition exclusively to cage-free eggs, some smaller players have also pledged to make the switch.

Gelson’s Markets announced it would make the move for its private label packaged eggs this year, and all eggs would be cage-free by 2020. The retailer said the majority of its eggs are already cage-free, and close to 90% of packaged egg sales would be cage-free by 2017.

“We have been working closely with the Humane Society and are excited to share the news,” Rob McDougall, Gelson's president and CEO, said in a press release. “We pride ourselves on offering customers a wide selection of products and those that are both health-conscious and ethically responsible, whether grass-fed beef, organic, non-GMO or vegan items. In response to increased consumer demand and the industry trend toward cage-free, we look forward to making this swift transition.”

Kings Food Markets also plans to transition its private label shell and liquid eggs to cage-free the end of this year. All eggs sold at Kings will be cage-free by 2025, the company said.

“We pride ourselves on being a leader in cage-free egg offerings in our marketplace. In fact, 50% of our shell egg sales are cage-free. We are taking this commitment even further as plans have been underway to transition our private label offering to 100% cage free by the end of 2016, as well as 100% of our shell and liquid egg supply by 2025,” Judy Spires, chairman and CEO, Kings Food Markets, said in an emailed statement.

King Kullen announced in a Facebook post that its eggs would be cage-free by 2025.