UK Egg Centre Forms Strategic Alliance to Shore Up British Egg Supply Chain
The UK egg products sector has taken a significant step towards greater stability and resilience with the formation of a new strategic joint venture between The UK Egg Centre, The Hardeman Group and Bumble Hole Foods.
The UK Egg Centre, a specialist importer and distributor of egg products to the United Kingdom and wider food manufacturing sector, confirmed that the joint venture is designed to secure raw material supply, increase production capacity and support sustainable future growth within the British market.
In June, The Hardeman Group announced the acquisition of Bumble Hole Foods for an undisclosed sum, bringing together two leading UK egg processing companies. That deal created a fully integrated player within the egg products market, spanning everything from raw material supply and processing through to distribution.
The new joint venture with The UK Egg Centre is intended to build on that integration and create a more robust and efficient supply chain.
According to The UK Egg Centre, the collaboration will allow the organisations to leverage their combined strengths to deliver greater stability, security and resilience across the sector. By pooling expertise, infrastructure and sourcing capabilities, the partners believe they can better navigate market volatility, supply challenges and growing scrutiny around egg sourcing practices.
The company described the move as a powerful alliance that will underpin future expansion in the British market. It also stressed that the joint venture reaffirms a shared commitment to supporting the British food industry, ensuring that customers continue to receive a reliable and competitive source of egg products now and into the future.
The announcement comes at a time when the British egg market is under increasing pressure. Concerns have been raised over the volume of imported eggs entering the United Kingdom, particularly where those eggs end up in processed foods and manufactured products.
Earlier this year, 50,000 people signed a petition urging supermarkets to stop using imported eggs in British foods, reflecting growing consumer unease about transparency, standards and food miles.
The petition followed the launch of the British Egg Industry Council’s “Manifesto for Change”, which called on food businesses to drop dual standards on egg purchasing and to back British eggs more consistently.
The manifesto argued that if UK producers are required to meet higher welfare and safety standards, those same expectations should be applied to eggs and egg products used in manufacturing and foodservice.
At the same time, questions about animal welfare remain firmly in the spotlight. Supermarket chain Farmfoods has recently faced protests over its continued sale of eggs from caged hens.
The retailer had previously signed up to the cage-free commitment – a campaign that calls on retailers to end the sale of caged eggs by the end of 2025 – but has since dropped the pledge, prompting criticism from campaigners.
Against this backdrop, the new joint venture between The UK Egg Centre, The Hardeman Group and Bumble Hole Foods is likely to be viewed as a timely response to both commercial and ethical pressures.
By reinforcing domestic supply, increasing capacity and backing long-term investment in the British egg products market, the partners are positioning themselves as part of the solution to concerns over imports, standards and security of supply.
Conclusion
In forming this joint venture, The UK Egg Centre, The Hardeman Group and Bumble Hole Foods are not only reshaping the egg products supply chain but also sending a clear signal about the future of the British egg market.
Their alliance aims to bring together scale, integration and commitment to British production at a time when consumers, campaigners and policymakers are all calling for higher standards, more transparency and fewer imported eggs in the nation’s food.
If successful, this partnership could play a key role in ensuring that UK food manufacturers have access to a stable, competitive and increasingly resilient source of egg products for many years to come.
News Credits: Strategic partnership creates “powerful alliance” for British egg market
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