Pulmuone Foods to Increase Sales of Animal Welfare Approved Eggs to 30 Billion Won

◦ Pulmuone introduced European-style animal welfare aviaries to step up its game in animal welfare egg market in 2018

◦ Pulmuone signed an MoU with Korean Animal Welfare Association on cage freedom conversion with an aim to transform all egg products to be animal welfare approved by 2028

◦ Pulmuone launched Animal Welfare Approved Pasture Raised Egg and Animal Welfare Approved Smoked Egg in 2018 to lead the domestic market

SEOUL – April 11^th, 2019 – Pulmuone Foods, after its proclamation outlining a plan for cage-freedom conversion in 2018, announced on April 11 that the company will expand sales of animal welfare approved eggs to KRW 30 billion, or $247,000. According to Nielson Korea, a market research firm, sales of eggs produced by Pulmuone Foods in 2018 was up to 100 billion won, which is approximately $741,000. Pulmuone Foods aims to increase the proportion of sales of animal welfare approved eggs to the total egg sales up to 30 percent in 2019.

▲ Animal Welfare Approved Pasture Raised Egg of Pulmuone Foods

In previous years, the proportion of animal welfare approved eggs to the total eggs in sales was a mere 10 percent. However, the number increased to a great extent to reach 23 percent in 2018, due to the collaboration between Pulmuone Foods and Poongnyeon Egg Farm, an agricultural corporation. Partnering with Poongnyeon Egg Farm, Pulmuone Foods adopted European-style aviary system, a representative animal welfare approved facility applied by European countries, stepping up its game in the animal welfare approved egg market.

In an European-style aviary, laying hens can freely roam around the main entrance and 3-floored decks at both ends of the cage-free facility. The aviary is praised as a proper solution for animal welfare standards with its cost- and space-efficient free-range system.

Pulmuone Foods started to sell the Animal Welfare Approved Pasture Raised Egg produced by Poongnyeon Egg Farm from early in 2018. Launching the Animal Welfare Approved Smoked Egg in local convenient stores in August 2018, the company has spearheaded the animal welfare egg market.

Pulmuone Corporation was the nation’s first company to introduce animal welfare to its businesses back in 2007, establishing 5 major criteria for animal welfare by cooperating with Korean Animal Welfare Association. Since 2012 when the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs officially approved standards on animal welfare of laying hens, government-approved animal welfare eggs of Pulmuone Foods have hit the market shelves. In 2018, Pulmuone Foods signed an MoU on execution of cage-freedom and announced to transform eggs of its entire product lineups into animal welfare approved ones by 2028.

“With the recent increase in the national awareness on animal welfare, the number of consumers buying animal welfare eggs is on a steady rise,” said Mr. Yeong-hun Ham, a Product Manager at Egg Product Division of Pulmuone Foods. “We are planning to continue to increase the proportion of animal welfare eggs to the entire egg products in sales.”

For eggs to be approved as an animal welfare product in the country, one must satisfy more than 140 stringent requirements: stocking density should not exceed 9 hens per 1 square meter, perches should be installed for basic needs of aviary birds, more than 1/3 of aviary should be covered with bedding, ammonia level must be maintained below 25 ppm inside the aviary by regularly changing the bedding, etc.