A clear PET package made from 100% recycled material that displays the fresh, Nellieβs Nest brand of Certified Humane, cage-free eggs from Pete & Gerryβs Organics has taken on a new level of transparency. In early 2013, the company redesigned the inner carton liners for its egg packs to include photos and copy that introduce some of the 59 small family farms that supply its eggs, along with facts on the state of egg farming today.
In the late β90s, fearful of being squeezed out of the conventional egg-farming business by big factory farms, Pete & Gerryβs, a small, family-run egg farm located in the heart of New Hampshireβs White Mountains, pioneered the organic and cage-free egg segment in the Northeastern U.S. βCEO Jesse LaFlamme caught and rode the growing wave of consumers who were turning toward more ethically produced, healthier eggs,β relates the companyβs executive vice president of marketing and business development, David Rachlin.
Today the farmβoperating nine barns of cage-free hensβcontracts with nearly 60 small family egg farms, primarily in the Northeastern U.S., and is constantly recruiting additional egg producers to keep up with demand for its Nellieβs Nest Cage-Free, Pete & Gerryβs Organic, and Pete & Gerryβs Heirloom egg brands.
βIt is deeply, viscerally important to our CEO to bring back the small family farmers, to give them a chance,β says Rachlin. βBig Ag has wiped out 92 percent of the small family egg farmers, and they have done that by concentrating in these massive CAFOs [Concentrated Agricultural Feeding Operations], with millions of hens in caged barns. Of course, itβs all to drive out cost, but it drives out a lot of other values, like ethics and humane treatment of the animals, as well as other things that even translate into the nutrition, appearance, and taste of the egg.β
Rolled out in April, new carton liners tell the Nellieβs Nest brand story on the inside of the lid. βWhen a consumer goes to buy eggsβI donβt know if itβs a natural, innate behavior, but it is certainly learnedβthey open the lid and inspect the eggs,β says Rachlin. βThat presents a beautiful billboard opportunity to tell the brand story, so we are taking advantage of that.β
Among the facts listed on the liner:
β’ 94% of all eggs produced in the U.S. in 2012 came from 60 companies
β’ 50% were produced by 10 large companies in average flocks of 15 million hens
β’ Only 5.7% of the 287 million hens in the U.S. are cage-free
β’ 100% of Nellieβs hens are cage-free
Photos and information on some of the family farmersβa different one on each cartonβemphasize the family-farm connection.
Also on the liner, Pete & Gerryβs explains why it has chosen to use recycled PET versus molded pulp for its tri-fold egg packaging. βThe [PET recycling] process uses far less energy and water than pulp, and uses no harsh chemicals,β the copy reads. The plastic carton is also said to provide greater protection for the eggs, as well.
Pete & Gerryβs was one of the first to use clear PET egg packaging from Interplast in 1996. Says Rachlin, despite the increase in material cost, βPete & Gerryβs deliberately moved away from molded pulp and into recycled plastic packaging because it is more environmentally sustainable.β
As for the outward-facing portion of the liner, Nellieβs uses delightful, colorful illustrations of happy hensβincluding LaFlammeβs childhood pet, Nellieβhand-drawn by a family friend, who recently refreshed the drawings in mid-2012. A single hen is pictured to one side wearing a t-shirt bearing the recycling symbol and advising, βThis package used to be a water bottle.β The refresh also included using a more saturated purple color for the package background, as well as call-outs that mention the eggsβ Omega-3 benefits.
Nellieβs Nest Cage-Free eggs are available at grocers throughout New England, and in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, in one-dozen and 6-count cartons.