Over the past few years, egg prices have been steadily rising due to an outbreak of bird
flu that began in 2022. This increase in prices accelerated as the bird flu outbreak has
worsened, increasing by over 60 percent between December 2023 and January 2024.
The panic over egg prices has led to grocery customers stockpiling eggs and leaving
empty shelves in the stores. Some people are resorting to raising their own backyard
chickens. And a few enterprising thieves stole an entire truckload of eggs valued at
around $40,000.
Restaurant owners are also responding to the higher cost of eggs by either taking eggs
off their menu altogether, or by raising prices. The latest big-named chain to do so is the
Waffle House, which announced they were putting a $0.50 surcharge on each egg.
Waffle House sells over 250 million eggs per year, so, a dramatic increase in the cost of
eggs can cost them to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in profit. Waffle House’s
competitor, Cracker Barrel, quickly entered the conversation by saying they would not
impose a surcharge like Waffle House did because, “there’s nothing hospitable about
that.” While Cracker Barrel may be able to ride out the storm to build goodwill among
their customers, if the high prices remain for long, they may end up with their barrels
empty.
Discussion Questions:
1) Explain how stockpiling eggs causes eggs to become even more expensive.
2) Why would a company decide to implement a surcharge instead of simply raising
the price?
Sources| PNJ: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2025/02/03/floridas-egg-shortage-is-a-us-problem-prices-likely-to-go-higher/78192250007/; The Independent: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/egg-shortage-prices-stockpiling-bird-flu-b2693758.html; Yahoo.com: https://www.yahoo.com/news/soaring-egg-prices-drive-south-223608056.html; USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/06/pennsylvania-eggs-100000-stolen-update/78282227007/; Free P: https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/dining/2025/02/05/famed-waffle-house-chain-rising-eggs-prices-customers/78253884007/; Unsplash: Photo by Melani Sosa on Unsplash