Consumer demand for eggs continued its impressive growth in 2014. USDA reports that Per Capita Egg Consumption grew to 260.7 in 2014, which is the highest in 30 years, and marks the fifth consecutive year that egg consumption has increased.

According to Nielsen, retail egg category sales grew an incredible 11 percent or $550 million in 2014 to $5.5 billion. Unit volume sales (equivalized dozens) were up 2 percent, growing by 54 million dozens vs. 2013. The average price for a dozen eggs averaged $2.11 in 2014, up 17 cents from the previous year.

Despite the higher retail prices, which typically dampen consumer demand, unit volume increased. In fact, the growth rate for egg sales in both dollars and units were double that of 2013.

The American Egg Board (AEB) has an extraordinary team and their work has had a huge effect on increasing egg and egg product consumption and demand. The Egg Product and Consumer Marketing teams, along with the strong program of the Egg Nutrition Center, have made major gains with the egg producers’ investment into AEB.

All of AEB’s programs are recognized for being exceptional, generating incredible results. AEB’s award-winning marketing efforts, including “Wake Up to Eggs” advertising, public relations, social media and retail promotional efforts, also played an important role in this success. Your investment into AEB enables the success of this national marketing — all of which drives demand for eggs and egg products. Here is a look at a few key results in 2014 that contributed to this growth.

AEB Grows Egg Consumption

incredible newsCommunicating the Value of Your Checkoff Dollars

Make it incredible!

JANUARY 2015

American Egg Board PO Box 738

1460 Renaissance Drive Park Ridge, IL 60068

O 847.296.7043 F 847.296.7007 IncredibleEgg.org

AEB.orgcontinued on page 3 ....

INCREDIBLE NEWS JANUARY 2015 2

DRIVING DEMAND FOR

EGGS AND EGG PRODUCTS

GEP Ambassadors Power Egg ContentThe Good Egg Project (GEP) started working with online influencers in 2013. These partners help amplify AEB’s messages through their expertise and readership. Initially, this program featured blogger partnerships, but as online communities grow, AEB expanded its reach to a variety of online influencers through their blogs and social media.

The 2014 GEP Ambassador program will continue in 2015. Each partner was thoroughly vetted and selected based on audience size and influence. As a result, AEB content and messages have kickstarted conversations around egg-based recipes and the eggs’ journey from farm to table, a key initiative of the GEP since its launch.

Additionally, AEB has:

• Engaged influencers to create content focusing on egg usage and egg farmers.

• Highlighted eggs as a key ingredient in any household.• Focused on social platforms beyond strictly blogs to reach a broader,

new audience.

In 2014, the program delivered more than 2.7 million total impressions, which is a 167 percent increase in impressions over the 2013 Ambassador Program that delivered more than 1.01 million impressions.

Updated State Support ProgramIn 2015 for the state promotional funding AEB transitioned from an allocation to a grant-based program. All states with production of 75,000 hens or more were eligible to participate. The grant process is broken into two approval periods, January through June, and July through December. Grant proposals for the first six months of 2015 were due December 1, and for the remaining part of the year, due June 1.

Each state promotional director or producer representative received with a list of best practices and updated guidelines. Emphasis was placed on new, creative ways to reach consumers. Each state was encouraged to submit a proposal based upon the criteria given, and the proposals were evaluated by a panel.

The first round of grant proposals brought in submissions from 28 of the 36 eligible states. Every state that submitted a proposal was awarded grant money.

Highlights of new programs that will be implemented this year include:

• Food Truck Egg Contest • Egg Cooking contest for School Foodservice • Selfies with the Giant Egg • Sponsorship the “Fowl Line” during basketball games • Eggtastic Breakfast Cart in schools • King of the Kitchen Deviled Egg Contest • Everything Easter Mall Promotion.

AEB’s long-standing toll-free EGGSolutions hotline number previously answered by Dr. Glenn Froning for the past 16+ years, has been transferred to AEB’s office.

Food manufacturers and egg processors looking for technical egg information can still call 877.488.6143. Elisa Maloberti, AEB’s Director of Egg Product Marketing, will field all calls and route to the appropriate industry eggspert for reply.

EGGsolutions Hotline Rings On

CONSUMER MARKETING: With new print ads, customized radio spots and a robust online presence via digital display, search and social media, the Incredible Egg “Wake Up to Eggs” national advertising and marketing campaign reached 93 percent of AEB’s target audience at a frequency of eight times.

The Wake Up to Eggs ads appeared in top-tier magazines such as Every Day with Rachael Ray, Food Network Magazine and Men’s Health and expanded its reach into new health and lifestyle magazines like Sports Illustrated, Dr. Oz and Health. At the end of 2014, more than 108 ads ran in 27 major food and lifestyle magazines

TAKING BACK EASTER: From hard-boiling to egg decorating to recipe ideas, AEB gave the season’s cherished hallmark an on-trend update.

AEB encouraged consumers to purchase an extra dozen eggs this Easter — one for eating and one for hard-boiling and decorating. This strategy was leveraged by creating and implementing a fully integrated marketing campaign through advertising, shopper marketing and traditional and social media.

AEB continued its tradition of supporting the 136th White House Easter Egg Roll by donating more than 14,000 hard-boiled and dyed eggs along with volunteers’ hats and aprons featuring the official White House Easter Egg Roll logo. On the South Lawn, AEB’s whimsical Hen to Home Experience engaged the day’s 30,000 attendees.

EGG PRODUCT MARKETING: A new campaign featuring the tagline “REAL Eggs make a REAL difference” debuted, showcasing the functional attributes of REAL egg ingredients. Advertising also reminded product formulators that REAL eggs have always been a simple

ingredient, in terms of both usage and their appearance on ingredient statements.

EGG NUTRITION CENTER: Work by researchers conducting ENC-funded studies continued throughout the year. ENC’s robust

research pipeline translated to a record number of published studies. Throughout the year, ENC reached health professionals, capitalizing on the protein trend at numerous in-person events.

AEB Grows Egg Consumption (continued from page 1)

Scan this page with your Mom+ app to watch a video on how to hard-boil an egg

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ingredients:

4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

4 thin pretzel sticks or crisp bread sticks

¼ cup refrigerated ranch or dill dip

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ingredients:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

1∕3 cup shredded taco-seasoned cheese OR cheddar cheese

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

3 Tbsp. minced green onions

1. Cut a small “x” in the larger end of each egg; insert a thin bread or pretzel stick, being careful not to split the egg. 2. Serve the egg pops with your choice of dip and favorite toppers.

1. Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Set aside whites. 2. Place yolks in small bowl and mash with fork. Add cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and green onions; mix well. 3. Spoon 1 heaping Tbsp. yolk mixture into each egg white half. Cover and refrigerate to blend flavors.

Hard-Boiled Egg DippersEasy Classic Deviled Eggs

An Eggs-cellent Start: Hard-boiling Eggs1. Place eggs in saucepan large enough to hold them in single layer,

and cover with 1 inch of cold water. Bring to a boil. Remove from burner and cover pan.

2. Let eggs stand in water for about 12 minutes for large eggs (9 for medium; 15 for extra-large).

3. Drain and cool completely under cold running water or in bowl of ice water, then refrigerate until you are ready to use.

Artistic Eggs-pression

Select from a variety of PAAS® decorating kits and let your child’s imagination run wild.

Let your child eggs-press her creativity this Easter with egg decorating kits from PAAS.® Hard-boiling eggs for decorating is convenient and simple too. Hard-boiled eggs are the best to decorate (and hide). Plus they’re delicious to eat!

Eggs-tra Special RecipesTurn those masterpieces into tasty treats with these recipes:

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AD APPROVAL

Release has been obtained Legal Coord:

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Copywriter: Studio:

JOB #: AEGEGG-P30008 PROOF: 3

CLIENT: American Egg Board OP: WB

SPACE/SIZE: B: 8.625” x 11.25” T: 7.5” x 10.5” S: 7” x 9.75”

DATE:

THIS ADVERTISEMENT PREPARED BY GREY WORLDWIDE

CLIENT: American Egg Board SIZE, SPACE: 7.5” x 10.5”, None

PRODUCT: Egg PUBS: Magazine

JOB#: AEGEGG-P30008 ISSUE: 2013

ART DIRECTOR: D. Fallon COPYWRITER: None

Brought to you by America’s egg farmers.

Decorate eggs with your family for an incredible Easter. For fun decoratingtips visit www.incredibleegg.org

S:7”

S:9.75”

T:7.5”

T:10.5”

B:8.625”

B:11.25”

IncredibleEgg.org

Juego de decoración de huevos Egg Decorating Kit

Incredible edible easyEaster eggs!

DRIVING DEMAND FOR

EGGS AND EGG PRODUCTS

INCREDIBLE NEWS JANUARY 2015 3

INCREDIBLE NEWS JANUARY 2015 3 INCREDIBLE NEWS JANUARY 2015 4

During the holidays, the Incredible Egg reminded consumers about the importance of picking up an extra dozen eggs to be prepared for anything. New recipes and point of sale initiatives ushered in the season, while a mix of online partnerships with popular influencers on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram kept egg messaging front and center. By the end of the two-month campaign, visions of holiday baking successfully danced in everyone’s heads.

Overall, 2014 impressions were four times greater than 2013, suggesting that a combination of both social and traditional media work hand-in-hand to increase reach new audiences. In fact, a more robust social program supplemented with key partners in 2014 brought in nearly half of the overall media impressions. Key partnerships also accounted for 98 percent of social media impressions due to their ability to reach large, loyal audiences with Incredible Egg content.

Additionally, 223 million dozen eggs were sold in the four weeks ending on December 20, and dollar sales increased six percent (or $509 million) vs. 2013.

Following is an at-a-glance look at the Incredible Egg 2014 Holiday Program results by the numbers:

• 168,000,000 Total Program Impressions• 101,500,000 Traditional Media impressions• 67,00,000 Total Social Media Impressions • 66,000,000 Influencer Partnership Impressions.

0  20  40  60  80  

100  120  140  160  180  

2014  Tradi-onal  and  Social  Impressions  

2013  Tradi-onal  and  Social  Impressions  

Millions  

2014    Vs.  2013  Holiday  Impressions  

2014  Tradi-onal  and  Social  Impressions  

2013  Tradi-onal  and  Social  Impressions  

Incredible Egg Holiday Program Makes Baking Bright!

Social  Media  

Coverage  40%  Tradi3onal  

Media  Coverage  

60%  

Holiday  Impressions  Breakout    By  Category  

GOOD EGG PROJECT: In partnership with NBC Universal, AEB reached TV viewers in Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, Seattle, Phoenix, Tampa and Minneapolis-St. Paul with the results of the 50-Year Environmental Footprint Study. The third annual Virtual Farm Field Trip also became Discovery Education’s most popular field of all time. AEB positioned itself as the EGGucation Expert by partnering with well-known educational experts to create Common Core-aligned lesson plans and materials. FOODSERVICE: Efforts related to National Accounts, Incredible Breakfast Trends, Breakfast Beat newsletter, School Foodservice and Foodservice Distributors promoted eggs within this channel. Eggs remain an important component of away-from-home breakfast. AEB’s School Foodservice program grew throughout the year. The new recipes and supporting materials for EggPops reached 85 percent of the top 500 school districts in the United States.

EXPORT: USAPEEC leveraged AEB’s funding to promote the Incredible Edible Egg internationally. AEB’s materials were translated into different language including Spanish, Arabic and others. As a result of 40 trade visits in Mexico, an additional 12 companies are importing into the country.

RETAIL: One approach is through major partnership promotions with complementary brands. These promotions feature a consumer offer to incentivize incremental egg purchases. These partnerships help extend the reach and impact of AEB’s promotional efforts, while also sharing the costs.

AEB is working hard to continue building on this upward momentum in 2015.

INCREDIBLE NEWS JANUARY 2015 4

Annually, ENC funds nutrition-related research that has yielded a robust research pipeline of studies that are heading toward publication. Once published, these studies enhance AEB’s marketing messages. Last year, 10 ENC-funded research studies were published.

• Egg consumption and cardiovascular disease among diabetic individuals: a systematic review of the literature. Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy –Dr. Nga Tran/Exponent

• A randomized trial to manipulate the quality instead of quantity of dietary proteins to influence the markers of satiety. Journal of Diabetes its Complications –Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar/Pennington Biomedical

• Egg n-3 fatty acid composition modulates biomarkers of choline metabolism in free-living lacto-ovo-vegetarian women of reproductive age. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics –Dr. Marie Caudill/Cornell University

• Effect of egg ingestion on TMAO production in humans: a randomized controlled dose-response. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition –Dr. Steven Zeisel/University of North Carolina

• Egg intake during carbohydrate restriction alters peripheral blood mononuclear cell inflammation and cholesterol homeostasis in metabolic syndrome. Nutrients –Dr. Maria Luz-Fernandez/University of Connecticut

• Diets higher in protein predict lower high blood pressure risk in Framingham Offspring Study adults. American Journal of Hypertension –Dr. Lynn Moore/Boston University

• A randomized crossover, pilot study examining the effects of a normal protein vs. high protein breakfast on food cravings and reward signals in overweight/obese “breakfast skipping,” late-adolescent girls. Nutrition Journal –Dr. Heather Leidy/University of Missouri

• Effects of step-wise increases in dietary carbohydrate on circulating saturated fatty acids and palmitoleic acid in adults with metabolic syndrome. PLoS ONE –Dr. Jeff Volek/University of Connecticut

• Effect of 6-weeks of sprint interval training and nutrition meetings on mood and perceived health in women at-risk for metabolic syndrome. American Journal of Physiology –Dr. Ellen Evans/University of Georgia

• Effects of egg ingestion on endothelial function in adults with coronary artery disease: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial. American Heart Journal (In press) –Dr. David Katz/Yale Griffin Hospital

Applications for 2015 research grants are currently being accepted.

INCREDIBLE NEWS JANUARY 2015 5

2014 ENC-Funded Published Studies

INCREDIBLE NEWS JANUARY 2015 2

For the third year, the AEB staff took turns as Salvation Army Bell Ringers within Park Ridge. This year’s location was the best yet with an increase in foot traffic and donations.

The staff also participated in a holiday toy drive through Toys for Tots and food drive for the local food pantry. Both were supported with the fines and mulligan sales collected the Board Meetings throughout the year. A $1,000 donation, raised through industry contributions at Board Meetings, was also made to support cancer research in honor of AEB’s Mia Roberts.

There was room for incredible fun through at AEB’s office during the holidays. The staff participated in a Holiday Pie Throw Down before Thanksgiving and a December Cookie Exchange.

Make it incredible!

American Egg Board PO Box 738

Park Ridge, IL 60068 O 847.296.7043 F 847.296.7007 IncredibleEgg.org

AEB.org

Your AEB Staff, Giving Back this Holiday Season