Asia Left Behind: Ten international companies have yet to report delivering on their cage-free egg pledges across the region
Several report full or near-full cage-free egg sourcing in all or part of Europe or North America. Their own reports show far lower figures, or none, for Asia.
BANGKOK, THAILAND – Media OutReach Newswire – 5 November 2026 – In October, more than fifty animal advocates gathered in Bangkok to call on ten international companies to deliver their cage-free egg commitments across Asia.
The ten are Aramark, Grupo Bimbo, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Inspire Brands, Kraft Heinz, Marriott International, Mondelēz International, Radisson Hotel Group, Sodexo and Unilever. Each of the ten published a commitment to source only cage-free eggs worldwide by 2025. Based on their public reports as of early-November, none has yet confirmed meeting that commitment in Asia, and several have since extended timelines, limited the scope to certain regions, or set no new deadline.
More than fifty animal advocates hold placards and a banner calling on international companies to deliver their cage-free egg commitments in Asia. Bangkok, October 2026.
The gap between the West and Asia shows in the companies' own reports. IHG reports that 99.2% of its US hotels were aligned with its cage-free egg commitment in 2025, compared with 0% in Greater China. Marriott reports that 90.84% of egg spend at its managed US properties was cage-free in 2025, compared with 59.13% at its managed properties in Greater China.
Unilever reports 100% cage-free eggs in Europe and North America, but its latest available figure for Asia and Oceania is 7%, for 2023. It has said it will end its commitment to reach 100% cage-free eggs globally. Kraft Heinz's animal welfare policy, issued in September 2026, commits to sourcing only cage-free eggs in North America and Europe. For other regions, including Asia, it says it will "continue to monitor the availability and affordability of cage-free eggs". Both companies describe North America and Europe as their "biggest markets". Sodexo has extended its timeline up to 2035 for countries where cage-free supply chains are still developing. Radisson Hotel Group's April 2026 status report says it will focus on implementation "rather than setting additional time-bound public targets where credible pathways are not yet clear", and Grupo Bimbo cites factors affecting "the operational feasibility of completing the transition within the original timeline".
The advocates acknowledge the challenges, and several animal welfare groups work directly with egg producers in the region to build cage-free supply. Other companies already show that progress is possible. Hilton's latest report lists 100% cage-free egg sourcing in the Philippines and more than 95% in Malaysia and Thailand, among its managed hotels in Asia Pacific. Accor's June 2026 report shows 91% of its hotels in South Korea, 88% in the Philippines and 80% in Thailand offering only cage-free eggs at the end of 2025.
The advocates call on the companies to honour their 2025 commitments in Asia without further delay, and to publish market-by-market progress together with the concrete steps being taken.
Animal advocacy groups across Asia, including Farmed Animal Compliance Thailand, the Malaysia Accountability Project, the Indonesia Network for Compassionate Animal Farming, Malayang Manok PH, Vietnam Animal Welfare Watch and Accountability Lens Asia, will continue to track each company's public reporting and progress, and will share updates as companies publish new figures for Asia.
Notes for editors: Company figures are taken from each company's own published reports and policies, as checked on Nov 5, 2026. Some companies' goals excluded specific countries or types of egg; details are in the source table that follows this release.
Source table
| Company | 2025 commitment | West, latest | Asia, latest | Change since | Sources |
| Aramark | Worldwide by 2025, shell and liquid (March 2017); covers "controlled spend", excludes ingredient eggs | Europe 83%, US 77% of eggs (2025) | No Asia figure; Asia and Latin America are under 15% of egg purchases | September 2026 update gives no date; April 2026 version mentioned "enriched cages and credits" | Sept 2026 update, April 2026 version, p.3, 2017 release, policy |
| Grupo Bimbo | 100% cage-free supply by 2025 from suppliers "around the world" (December 2015) | North America 46% (2025) | Only a combined "Europe, Asia & Africa" figure: 57% (2025) | Cites "the operational feasibility of completing the transition within the original timeline"; no new date | December 2025 Cage Free Egg Report, 2015 release |
| IHG Hotels & Resorts | Goal: only cage-free "across our entire global estate by 2025" (December 2016) | US 99.2%, Europe 79.9% of hotels aligned (2025) | EAPAC 8.9%, Greater China 0% of hotels aligned (2025) | 2025 reporting gives no target date. "Aligned" includes hotels in regulated markets and hotels that serve no eggs | 2025 ESG Databook, p.12, 2016 release |
| Inspire Brands | "each brand that currently serves eggs has committed globally to 100% sourcing of cage-free eggs by 2025" (Good Citizens Report, 2022 edition) | Dunkin' US: approximately 30% of eggs on breakfast sandwiches (2022 report). Arby's met its commitment in 2020, with a footnote that supply shortages have limited availability | None published | Current website no longer states the global goal; it says Arby's met its commitment and SONIC and Dunkin' "continue to make positive progress" | Good Citizens Report 2022, PDF pp.28, 71, Inspire Food page |
| Kraft Heinz | Eggs globally from cage-free or better hens by 2025 (December 2017) | North America 66% (2024) | Asia Pacific 15% (2024) | Policy issued 16 September 2026: only cage-free eggs (directly sourced) in North America and Europe, "our biggest markets" (US, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK); no deadline. Outside these regions it "will continue to monitor the availability and affordability of cage-free eggs" | Global Animal Welfare Policy v2.0, §3.7, 2025 ESG Report, p.12 |
| Marriott International | All owned, managed and franchised hotels globally by end-2025; shell, liquid and egg products | US managed properties 90.84% of egg spend (2025) | Managed egg spend: APAC excl. China 74.91%, Greater China 59.13% (2025). Managed properties in Bhutan and Nepal at 100% | Report states no change. The 70.03% global figure covers managed and franchised hotels, so it isn't comparable with the regional figures | 2026 Serve 360 Report, pp.8–9, 2022 statement |
| Mondelēz International | 2016: US and Canada by 2020, Europe by 2025; later global by 2025 excluding Russia and Ukraine | US and Canada 100% by end-2020 | No Asia figure found; China and Vietnam excluded from the 2027 goal | Now 2027, excluding China, Morocco, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam; 82% in 2025 on that basis | Cage-free position, Goals & Progress, 2022 report, p.10 |
| Radisson Hotel Group | Globally by 2025, shell, liquid and egg products (November 2019) | Europe 79% of reporting hotels (2025) | South Asia 47%, Southeast Asia Pacific 71%, China 45% of reporting hotels (2025; China excludes franchised). Only 11 of 18 China hotels reported | April 2026 status report sets no new date: no "additional time-bound public targets where credible pathways are not yet clear". Global: 72% of reporting hotels, 40% of all hotels | April 2026 status report, February 2026 update, 2019 release |
| Sodexo | Worldwide by 2025, shell and liquid (July 2016) | FY2025: 100% shell and liquid in 13 European countries; UK 98%; US shell 77%, liquid 89% | FY2025 shell eggs: China 0.4%, India 2.6%, Malaysia 0.6%, Philippines 0%, Singapore 1.5%, Thailand 3.8%; liquid 0% or not reported | 2025 goal now described as covering countries making up 88% of revenue; 15 markets, including China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, moved to roadmaps ending 2030 or 2035 | FY2025 Animal Welfare Performance Report, pp.3, 6–8, FY2024 report, p.4, URD FY2025, p.150 |
| Unilever | "100% global 2025 target" (2018) | 100% in Europe and North America; 68% globally (end-2024) | Asia and Oceania 7% (2023 actual, in the 2024 report); the 2025 Annual Report gives no cage-free egg figures | Says it "will end our commitment to reach 100% cage free eggs globally" and will "maintain 100% cage-free eggs in North America and Europe, which are our biggest markets" (page undated; news dates the change to late 2025) | Position page, 2024 report, 2025 Annual Report, Food Manufacture (news) |
Companies credited in the release
| Company | West, latest | Asia, latest | Cited in the release for | Source |
| Hilton | Americas 93%, EMEA 96% (managed) | APAC 42% (managed); Philippines 100%, Malaysia and Thailand over 95% (managed) | Country results in the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand | 2025 Responsible Sourcing Goals, p.5 |
| Accor | Europe 80% of all hotels (end-2025) | Asia Pacific 73%, South Korea 91%, Philippines 88%, Thailand 80%, Greater China 17% of all hotels (end-2025, self-reported) | Country results in South Korea, the Philippines and Thailand | June 2026 progress report |
Hashtag: #CageFree
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