“We hope that through using cafés as a medium, we can promote the concept of environmental and animal protection to our consumers in China. The commitment to using cage-free eggs is one of the steps we are taking to realize this vision, and we will be using China as a starting point before gradually implementing this policy in other countries.”
– Li Jing, Founder of Zoo Group

Zoo Group has become the first domestic cafe chain in China to commit to ending the use of caged eggs, a move which comes after several months of engagement with Lever. The Group operates 100 restaurants across its brands Zoo Coffee, Zoo Kitchen, Foxy Cake and Zoo Steak, all of which will fully phase out the use of caged eggs across China by 2025 at the latest.

Zoo Group’s cage-free pledge comes on the heels of similar pledges Lever has been able to generate from international coffee and cafe brands with a strong presence in China, including Costa Coffee (the country’s third largest coffee chain), Dunkin Donuts, Peet’s, illy and Krispy Kreme.

The market for cage-free eggs in China is growing as consumers become more conscious of their food choices. A 2021 survey released by Lever along with China food media agency Foodtalks found that over 75% of Chinese consumers reported being more likely to patronize a food brand if it committed to using only cage-free eggs. Demand for cage-free eggs in mainland China is projected to increase by 1.5 billion eggs annually by 2025 in response to existing corporate commitments. 

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