‘Confusing and Misleading’: Kroger Hit with Class Action Over In-Store Cage-Free Egg Marketing

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A proposed class action alleges Kroger has misled consumers into buying purportedly cage-free eggs that, in fact, are produced by caged hens, in part due to “confusing and misleading” marketing in stores. 

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The 15-page lawsuit quotes heavily from a report released by progressive think tank Data for Progress titled “Cracking Down on Kroger: Company’s Customers Demand Increased Transparency and Follow-Through on Cage-Free Egg Commitments.” The case, highlighting the article’s main findings, says that Kroger customers have criticized the company, the largest grocer in the United States, over its “confusing and misleading” marketing of caged chicken eggs, which apparently fails to adequately distinguish between which eggs come from caged chickens and which do not. 

Per the suit, the Data for Progress report “indicates that Kroger shoppers are being misled into buying eggs from caged hens wrongly thinking they are cage-free.” 

The plaintiff “shares the confusion” of the “large percentage” of Kroger customers who have apparently been misled by the grocer’s in-store labeling of its private label eggs, the case says, claiming the consumer believed and expected that eggs labeled as “Farm Fresh” and “Grade A” meant that they came from cage-free hens. 

Jason Evans, chief of the Michigan Attorney General’s Corporate Oversight Division, sent Kroger a letter reminding the grocer that state law, come 2025, will prohibit the sale of eggs from caged hens, stressing that “[b]eing clear about which eggs are from caged hens is particularly important in Michigan.” In the letter, Evans urged Kroger to “add clear signage to your stores to help consumers understand which eggs, exactly, came from caged chickens and which did not, so as to help them be able to make informed choices on how they spend their hard-earned dollars.” 

According to the lawsuit, in 2022, Kroger backtracked on an earlier commitment to only sell cage-free eggs by 2025, claiming that “slow industry progress and consumers’ demand for affordable eggs [were] the main drivers” for the reversal. 

“Instead of cage-free eggs, ‘Kroger now anticipates transitioning only approximately 70 percent of its eggs to cage-free or ‘higher standards’ by 2030,’” the suit states. 

The filing says that Kroger’s false and misleading representations—including representing its eggs as “Farm Fresh” and “Grade A” have allowed the grocer to sell eggs at a premium price. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons in Illinois, Arkansas, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Iowa, West Virginia and Alaska who bought eggs described in Kroger stores as “Positive Farm Fresh,” “Farm Fresh” or “Grade A” within the applicable statute of limitations period.

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