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Today, egg aisles are almost not only cheap, but it has become a big problem before the Easter holiday.
If the egg shortage does not start cleaning before the April 20 holiday, manufacturers of Easter egg dye kits are preparing for the potential consequences. For many companies specializing in these activity sets, egg dye kits and related products, it accounts for a large proportion of annual revenue. Reduced sales could have a significant impact on their bottom line.
“I think sales will drop,” said Ashley Phelps, founder and CEO of plant baking and decoration company Color Kitchen. “It remains to be seen, but I think it might be.”
Wholesale egg prices have eclipsed record levels, according to Expana, amid the family’s bird flu outbreak, according to Expana, a global commodity data company, which is as high as $8.58 per dozen in the case of a family’s bird flu outbreak. More than 52 million egg birds have died, bringing the country’s flock to just 280 million, which is a very low level, said Ryan Hojnowski, a market reporter for Expana.
He noted that the price increase slowed down consumer demand as retail egg prices averaged $6 per dozen or more. In addition, many stores have implemented procurement restrictions, limiting the number of cartons customers can purchase at one time.
The combination of inflated prices and limited availability may reduce egg sales during the Easter holiday, ultimately affecting the demand for egg dye kits.
According to founder Leah Fanning, a company that makes natural art and craft kits for children, natural paints typically sell 40,000 to 50,000 egg dye kits during the Easter holidays. So far this year, the company’s retail partners have ordered only 7,000 toolkits.
“It’s definitely a huge drop,” Fanning said, noting that most buyers have cited a shortage of eggs on smaller orders.
Fanning told CNBC that the egg dye kit has become the best-selling product for natural earth coatings, for 13 years and has been in business for its first eight years. Of the company’s over 40 products, the Egg Dye Kit remains its “absolute bestseller.”
She noted that although most of the sales of natural earth paints come from retail locations, online sales are usually accepted around three weeks before Easter. This leaves direct-to-consumer sales likely to increase in mid-March.
A logo at a New York City supermarket requires customers to limit egg purchases to a box on February 13, 2025.
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Color Kitchen said its Easter items account for 20% of the company’s total inventory, exceeding the sale of all other items, including its Christmas icing kit.
Phelps notes that most retailers ordered these egg kits a few months before the holiday to ensure stock immediately after Valentine’s Day. She said that given the sensitivity to the inflationary environment, retailers “have fewer products this year.”
“The other problem is that some grocery stories, if they don’t sell, then we’re going to be reclaimed as a charge for products that try to move them out of the store,” Phelps said. “So if something that has been shipped to the grocery store isn’t sold, that’s where we’re going to be hit. It can be really bad.”
Phelps said 75% of kitchen sales come from shelves. The remaining 25% comes from direct-to-consumer sales on their websites as well Amazon.
Walking on the eggshell
Some companies still expect to see solid business this Easter. The holiday took place in late April, and the company sold for another three weeks compared to last year.
Hey Buddy Hey Pal is a company that makes egg-style egg decorators, a tool for rotating eggs so kids can color them using markers, generating 85 to 90% of their annual revenue from their Easter products. Last year, the company generated $14 million in sales, up 22% from the previous year.
Curtis McGill, co-founder of Hey Buddy Hey Pal, said retailers have ordered fewer of their products this year. Still, the company said it expects another 18% increase in annual revenue as it plans to sell between 600,000 and 700,000 egg decorators this year.
Even if egg prices boil, some dye kit manufacturers view egg decoration as an important tradition, and even if they reduce the number of eggs they use, few families choose to skip.
Paas, a leader in the field of egg dye kits, expects some families to decorate eggs less this year, but many say many will still be involved in the tradition.
“It’s a sticky tradition,” said Joe Ens, CEO of Signature Brands.
The company recently completed a survey of 120 consumers and found that 94% of them are still planning to decorate eggs this holiday season.
“The reason for this is beyond traditions that are so important to consumers is that if you do break down the cost of tradition, then this is arguably the most affordable family tradition during any holiday,” he said.
He said Paas is expected to sell more than 10 million kits this year, one of the company’s strongest sales ever.
Craftshop chain Michaels said it has seen shoppers choose egg-inspired products. The company told CNBC that 43% of its total Easter sales so far this year are used in gypsum, plastic and handmade eggs.
Michaels said the specific craft egg kits designed to “imitate the traditional egg decoration experience” are selling for nearly three times the company expects.
Similarly, Hey Pal Hey Pal expects some families may choose to buy wooden eggs instead of real ones. Although alternatives are often more expensive than real eggs, they are an opportunity to save the work long after the holidays end.
“From now to now, we may continue to see outbreaks of bird flu and some of the different egg farms that were not affected,” McGill said. “It could get worse before getting better. It’s not a prediction, but at this point…I just hold my breath until we get to October 20.”
