THIS CHICKEN CROSSED the COUNTRY

By Steve Spencer

With its free-range approach, Happy Egg thriving in the Ozarks

Happy Egg is helping to create a new category within the egg market. Call them free-range eggs, since the chickens have their run of carefully selected family farms across Arkansas and Missouri.

From the layout of the farms to the feed, everything radiates out from the chickens. Happy Egg Company is an artisanal approach to producing eggs at a supermarket scale.

Happy Egg moved from San Francisco to Rogers midway through 2018 in order to be closer to the small family farmers who supply them with eggs. According to Whitney Fortin, Happy Eggs’ vice president for marketing, the move from the big city to poultry country helped connect their employees with these farmers in a fundamental way. It also doesn’t hurt to be close to Walmart.

Happy Egg CEO Alex Worley underlines that the concept begins with the chicken. “We focus on what’s actually best for the physical welfare of the birds.”

Happy Eggs’ go-to breeds are Speckled Legbar and Copper Maran. Birds on their affiliated farms have access to eight or more acres from 8 a.m. to sunset every day. They have access to water, shade, cover from the weather and even play structures. And their diet is carefully tailored to produce the most robust eggs. These chickens cross paths with no antibiotics, no hormones and no pesticides.

Happy Egg is the first commercial egg producer in the U.S. to be American Humane Certified. Happy Egg, an active member of The Poultry Federation, partneredwith the Humane Society to initiate this certification.

“It’s something that we are really proud of,” Worley said. What kind of egg, you might wonder, does this result in?

Happy Eggs’ Heritage Eggs are known for their hard shells, in distinct mahogany brown and pastel blue colors. You might have to try more than once to crack one. Their yolks are bright orange and extra firm. These eggs are sought out by Michelin-starred chefs, foodies and egg lovers across the U.S.

These eggs’ rich, creamy taste and texture make delicious versions of all the traditional egg preparations and contribute robust flavors to cookies, brownies and every baked good imaginable. Happy Egg has recently developed premium products within the premium egg category, including an egg with an enhanced vitamin profile.

According to United Egg Producers, currently about 66 percent of the egg market is caged eggs. For eggs sold directly to consumers, that number is closer to 72 percent. Happy Eggs sees a tremendous potential in increasing sales of its unique products as the egg industry gradually trends away from cages.

Growth is central to Happy Egg’s business plan. Since moving into fowl territory, it has grown from about a dozen employees to more than 50. It is one of the fastest growing companies in its category. And the company is aggressively growing its producing capacity to meet demand for their product.

It has established relationships with more than 100 farms at this point.

Fortin said the recruitment of new farmers has become a two-way street. Not only does Happy Egg search for new farming relationships in the area, but farmers have begun approaching them. Often these farmers are converting from supplying other egg brands because they appreciate Happy Eggs’ more personal approach.

“They like the way that our business operates and the benefits it provides them as farmers,” Fortin said.

Local banks even offer lending programs geared towards helping farmers get into the business of supplying eggs to Happy Egg Co.

The Happy Egg team prides itself on disrupting the egg business. Worley stresses: “We do not follow trends. We set our own standards for farming practices, and we are continuously raising them.”

Fortin said the company is always asking itself whether it is living up to its own values.

“If we have a choice between the easy thing that works against our values we are going to go with the more difficult choice.

“Happy Egg markets its products in recycled biodegradable cardboard, while most of the industry ships in styrofoam. Sourcing our biodegradable paper pulp cartons requires more lead time and effort, but it ties to our overall values as a company,” Fortin said.

Happy Eggs are available at a plethora of major retailers, from Walmart to Kroger to Target to Whole Foods. Its in-house logistics team manages the process of getting hundreds of thousands of eggs transported from farms to retailers.