New Study on Cage-Free Policy Transition Involving the Hospitality Sector
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EmailThis report was commissioned by the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (WSHA) to support informed discussion and learning among its members regarding cage-free egg sourcing across global hospitality markets.
This research examines how global hospitality companies are navigating the transition to cage-free egg sourcing in global markets. While public commitments to cage-free sourcing are now widespread, progress varies substantially across countries and regions due to differences in regulation, supply-chain capacity, procurement structures, and the allocation of purchasing authority across business models, particularly in franchisor–franchisee structures. In some markets, cage-free eggs are widely available and routinely sourced; in others, physical supply remains limited, prohibitively expensive, or operationally difficult to access. Whether corporate commitments translate into practice depends fundamentally on where cage-free sourcing is
feasible today and where structural constraints persist.
This research is structured in two phases. Phase 1, documented in this report, focuses on diagnosing why these differences arise and which constraints shape outcomes in practice. We combine global regulatory and production evidence with confidential interviews with hotel groups, purchasing organizations, and animal-welfare groups (AWGs), alongside a market-level analysis of selected focus countries (France, the United States, Brazil, Indonesia, China, Japan, India, Morocco, and Mexico). The objective is diagnostic: to identify where cage-free sourcing is currently feasible, where constraints persist, and why. A potential Phase 2 will build on these findings to design practical, market-specific solutions and procurement guidance tailored to different hospitality business models and sourcing environments.
