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The Happy Egg Co has been accused of misleading customers about hen welfare standards in a new complaint made to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The complaint, made by animal welfare non-profit A Bit Weird, was lodged on April 7 – the same day the CMA was granted new consumer protection powers. Under the new powers, the CMA has authority determine if key consumer protection laws have been breached without going through courts. This means that it’s able to “act more swiftly and directly to protect UK consumers.” According to A Bit Weird, this marks the complaint as a “landmark.”
The Happy Egg Co and marketing
The Happy Egg Co, which is owned by British food supplier Noble Foods, is one of the UK’s largest “free-range” egg producers. It’s known for its depictions of seemingly well-cared-for chickens living in green fields with lots of space. According to the complaint, The Happy Egg Co’s marketing and imagery of its farms is at odds with the reality for many hens that provide its eggs.
Examples cited in the complaint include The Happy Egg Co’s claim that it provides “calming and enriching environments” for hens. This is despite previous investigations documenting overcrowded conditions on farms with limited enrichment items.
Marketing materials for The Happy Egg Co tend to show healthy and fully-feathered hens. Investigations, however, have uncovered “injuries, feather loss, and beak trimming” affecting some Happy Egg hens, according to A Bit Weird. Beak trimming is standard practice in the UK egg industry.
Other allegations include misleading use of the slogan “Happiness First” to refer to hens, and claims that hens have “lots of room to roam, relax and play.”
In response to the complaint, a spokesperson for Noble Foods told Plant Based News: “We strongly refute these allegations which do not reflect the conditions on our farms or the values of our brand. We are committed to ensuring transparency with our consumers, and work closely with our farmers to ensure they meet our stringent welfare standards, with each farm independently audited by third parties including the RSPCA Assured.
“The welfare of our hens is our highest priority, and each hen has daily access to ranges, for eight hours or more, and our ranges provide a minimum of 20 percent tree cover, which is significantly above free-range standards. We also provide enriching indoor environments with perches and toys, and all housing meets or exceeds RSPCA Assured standards.”
Read more: ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ Features Segment On Egg Alternatives
Is The Happy Egg Co ‘duping British consumers?’
This isn’t the first time The Happy Egg Co has come under fire for its marketing. In May 2024, animal rights charity Animal Justice Project filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over the company’s allegedly “misleading” TV, radio, and internet adverts.
In October, Veganuary founder Matthew Glover accused the company of “welfarewashing” after an advert featuring actor and farmer Kelvin Fletcher stated that hens in a lush green field “certainly do look very happy.”
A 2021 investigation by PETA documented conditions on three farms supplying The Happy Egg Co. Birds were kept in large, overcrowded sheds, which investigators said could prevent them from engaging in natural behaviors like foraging, flapping their wings, and roosting comfortably. Birds were also subjected to mutilations like debeaking.
Many people believe that “free-range” farms house birds in green fields, but the reality is often very different. At one of the farms investigated, the outdoor space was a “bare, muddy ground with only a few dilapidated wooden shelters,” according to PETA.
Speaking about the new CMA complaint, A Bit Weird founder Andy Shovel said: “74 percent of UK adults consider animal welfare when they decide which groceries to buy, so it’s unsurprising that brands try to tap into this huge driver of purchase intent. But we believe that The Happy Egg Co is duping British consumers with cartoons of lush green meadows and smiling hens that are jumping for joy, when the reality is quite grisly. That’s just a bit weird.”
To coincide with the complaint, A Bit Weird has launched a petition calling for The Happy Egg Co to change its name. You can sign the petition here.
Read more: Brits Being ‘Systematically Misled’ About Meat, Dairy, And Eggs, Study Finds
