In 2004 Noble Foods, the leading egg marketing company, teamed up with Sainsbury's and The Woodland Trust to promote the Woodland Eggs brand, a free range eggs product. The eggs in the product range are gathered from hens that live in woodland ranging area as opposed to open fields. Hens that lay in a 'woodland farm' environment are happier and produce top quality eggs.
'Woodland farms' require a minimum of 20% of the ranging area to be covered with trees. 30 farms now exclusively produce Woodland Eggs for Sainsbury's.
For every box of eggs sold, 1p is donated to the Woodland Trust. 63,000 boxes are sold per week, an increase of 104% since the launch in 2004. The money raised is used by the Woodland Trust to plant trees and educate children, the next generation, about the importance of woodland and the environment. Every £1,000 raised is enough to create 1 acre of woodland.
The partnership between Noble Foods, Sainsbury's and the Woodland Trust developed the concept of Woodland Eggs, then consulted with farmers with regard to feasibility and agreement to develop their farms to the 'Woodland farms' specification.
Noble Foods' environment policy is signed and promoted by the Chairman and Chief Executive. Woodland Farms and the Woodland Trust partnership are aligned to this policy. Environmental agencies regularly monitor 'Woodland farms' to ensure they meet the highest standards.
The Woodland Eggs range currently makes up 5.3% of Sainsbury's sales, compared to Sainsbury's own label of barn eggs at 7.7%. The value of the brand at market level is £4.4 million compared with £3.4 million for Corngold Eggs, another Noble Foods product. This success has led Sainsbury's to commit to transfer all of its free range and organic eggs into Woodland Eggs by 2007.
