WattAgNet: Southwest Specialty Eggs acquires Eggland’s Best franchise

Southwest Specialty Eggs, a joint venture between Cal-Maine Foods and Hickman’s Egg Ranch, acquires Eggland’s Best franchise for Southern California and Nevada markets
Release Date: 2014-09-15
Southwest Specialty Eggs LLC, Cal-Maine Foods’ joint venture with Hickman’s Egg Ranch Inc., has acquired the Eggland’s Best Inc., franchise for the Southern California markets, which also includes Clark County and Las Vegas, Nevada. As a result of this transaction, Southwest Specialty Eggs LLC, will have licensing agreements for the sale of Eggland’s Best and Land O’ Lakes branded specialty eggs, as well as 4Grain, Farmhouse Eggs and other premium brands in this market region. Sales of Eggland’s Best specialty eggs accounted for approximately 14.4 percent of Cal-Maine’s total shell egg sales in fiscal 2014.

Commenting on the announcement, Dolph Baker, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods, stated, “We are excited about the opportunity for Southwest Specialty Eggs to market Eggland’s Best, Land O’Lakes, 4 Grain and Farmhouse Eggs branded and other specialty eggs in Southern California and Nevada. As consumer demand for specialty eggs has continued to grow, we have focused our growth strategy on expanding our market reach for sales of specialty eggs. We offer a variety of healthy choices for our customers and we look forward to participating in Southwest Specialty Eggs LLC’s marketing and distribution of these popular and well-respected brands in Southern California and Nevada.”