Saying it with floral eggs for Valentine's Day to mark Fairburn's 73rd anniversary

The Fairburn’s Famous British Blue® brand comes from one of the UK’s largest independent egg producers and packers, based right here in Lincolnshire.

No doubt staff will also be cracking a few today (Wednesday, February 14) as the company is also celebrating its 73rd anniversary.

To celebrate the milestone, third-generation family business is rolling out its Fairburn’s Famous exclusively into over 200 Asda stores across the country.

LJ Fairburn & Son, based in Burgh Le Marsh, was established in 1951 by Leslie James Fairburn with just 150 chickens bought for £150. The multi-million-pound business is now run by his grandchildren Daniel, Sarah and Caroline.

The company is renowned for being a ‘breakout’ firm in a relatively static and conservative farming sector. Over a decade ago, it made the decision to stop supplying through a major global brand, which it had done for 30 years, and go it alone. Initially it faced a ‘do or die’ situation, but the team invested strategically in land, equipment and livestock, and quickly built personal relationships with leading retailers.

It now produces 14 million eggs a week, has secured contracts with leading supermarkets, and launched innovative product ranges including its Fairburn’s Famous British Blue®.

Since 2023, the company has invested over £6 million expanding its site at Burgh-le-Marsh near Skegness and upgrading its local milling facility and rearing sheds.

The company’s egg packing hub is already one of the UK’s most technologically advanced, with cutting-edge robotics to improve efficiency and biosecurity. Its green credentials have now been boosted with the installation of solar rooftop panels. Capacity at the packing centre has recently been increased by a third to allow for future demand, and a new lorry park and loading bays have also been added.

Over the last 12 months, the company has also been rolling out its ‘bed and breakfast’ partnership, an industry-first initiative to help fellow egg producers. As the egg sector faced a triple whammy of rising energy and feed costs, plus Avian Influenza (AI), Fairburn’s Eggs launched this innovative package to ensure farmers have certainty over return, avoiding the requirement to make large initial cash outlays for pullets and feed, and by minimising the exposure to volatility of input costs. Fairburn’s Eggs pays producers to raise flocks on its behalf, supplying them with pullets and feed. A similar model had worked well in the pig sector, so the company’s team developed this bespoke and now award-winning version for egg producers.

As a vertically integrated business, Fairburn’s has the expertise and infrastructure required to run a partnership like this. Its field-to-fridge approach means the family-owned firm rears its own birds, mills and develops feeds, produces, packs and delivers eggs, manages relationships with leading UK retailers and has a wealth of experience that other producers can tap into.

Daniel Fairburn, CEO of Fairburn’s Eggs, said: “As a family-run egg producer, we’re incredibly proud to be launching our first national speciality brand. We hope consumers will not only love the delicious taste of the eggs, but also their floral-themed packaging.

“With our continued investment into the business, these are exciting times for us. We’ve always been determined to push the boundaries and innovate, while still retaining our focus on family values, responsible business methods and animal welfare, and we’re thrilled that our retail customers and producers continue to back us all the way.”

FACTFILE

* Research shows 37% of eggs are eaten at the weekend and, despite their versatility, 75% of Brits still prefer to tuck into them boiled, fried, poached or scrambled, rather than as part of a dish.

• As well as Asdam the business is also a proud supplier to Aldi, Costco and the Co-op.
• The first product to launch in the new range is the four-pack British Blue®, with eggs laid by flower-fed, rare breed hens, bred exclusively by Fairburn’s at farms across the county.
• Targeted as a weekend breakfast treat*, Fairburn’s Famous distinctive blue shell boasts a larger, rich and buttery yolk. Retailing at £1.75, the pack size and price point are making premium eggs more accessible, and the eye-catching floral box and flower stamp on each egg gives a nod to their rare breed status and flower-rich feed.