Eggs have been a declining business. In the 1960s Americans ate an average of 365 of them a year. By the early 1990s that was down to 234. They are a highly commoditized industry, too, that doesn't have many apparent avenues for growth. Still, one company has bucked the trend and succeeded significantly.
Charles Lanktree has been an executive of Eggland's Best since its founding in 1990, and he took the helm as chief executive officer in 1996. Eggland's Best, headquartered in Cedar Knolls N.J., has franchised farms in 30 states, and the eggs they produce have annual retail sales of $650 million. Since the introduction of Eggland's Best, American consumption has increased to 257 per year. The company has had 12 consecutive years of 15% or better growth under Lanktree, and sales growth for 160 of the last 161 months. It now commands an 80% share of the specialty egg business, meaning eggs that are higher priced and nutritionally superior.
Yahoo! BuzzLanktree has done this on one driving strategy–making the best egg he can. Among its accolades: Eggland's Best has been picked by Men's Health magazine as a top product for men to eat for six years in a row, and also by Women's Health; this June Prevention magazine named it one of the 25 healthiest foods for women and American Baby magazine called it one of the top five "superfoods."
To read the rest of this story please go to: Forbes
