The egg aisle is anything but cheaper by the dozen these days — and that’s becoming a big problem ahead of the Easter holiday.
The makers of Easter egg dye kits are bracing for the potential fallout if the egg shortage doesn’t begin to clear up before the April 20 holiday. For many companies that specialize in these activity sets, egg dye kits and related products make up a significant share of annual revenue. Diminished sales could have a major impact on their bottom lines.
“I think sales will be down,” said Ashley Phelps, founder and CEO of Color Kitchen, a plant-based baking decoration company. “That remains to be seen, but I think it probably will be.”
Wholesale egg prices have eclipsed record levels, reaching a high of $8.58 per dozen amid a domestic bird flu outbreak, according to global commodity data firm Expana. More than 52 million egg-laying birds have died, leaving the national flock at just 280 million, a critically low level, said Ryan Hojnowski, a market reporter at Expana.
He noted that rising prices have slowed consumer demand as retail egg prices average around $6 per dozen or higher. Additionally, many stores have implemented purchasing limits, restricting the number of cartons that customers can buy at one time.
The combination of inflated price and limited availability could curtail sales of eggs for the Easter holiday, ultimately affecting the demand for egg dye kits.