In-ovo sexing in the poultry sector is gaining traction
The global penetration of in-ovo sexing is expected to continue its sharp growth over the next few years, driven by rapid expansion in the US, continued strength in Europe, and entry into new markets such as Australia, Canada, the UK, and Brazil.
This Editor’s pick is part of our premium content. You can read this article for one month for free as a gift from us. Would you like to read more articles like this? For just €4,- per month, you can have unlimited access to all our premium content.
This is the conclusion of research conducted by Innovate Animal Ag, which shows that as of the end of Q1 2025, these trends are already underway.
The latest research aimed to understand the market penetration of in-ovo sexing globally by collecting data on the number of commercial laying hens currently in production that were sexed in-ovo as of 31 March 2025. Innovate Animal Ag asked each of the in-ovo sexing technology suppliers (Agri-Advanced Technologies (AAT), In Ovo, Nectra, Orbem, PlantEgg, Omegga, and Respeggt) with active commercialised technology in the last 18 months how many in-ovo sexed hens were produced between 1 October 2023 and 31 March 2025 using their technology.
Of the 393 million commercial laying hens in production in the EU, up to 117.9 million of them were sexed with in-ovo technology.
Current market penetration
Data supplied showed that of the 393 million commercial laying hens in production in the EU, 102.3 million to 117.9 million of them were sexed with in-ovo technology, implying a market penetration of 26-30%. This marks an 8 percentage point increase from 1 year ago, when the market penetration in the EU was found to be 20%. This remarkable jump lines up with a rapid increase in in-ovo sexing capacity between late 2023 and early 2025.
In-ovo sexing in the US, the UK, Switzerland and Norway
There are also 4 non-EU countries that have in-ovo sexing technology – the US, the UK, Switzerland, and Norway. Norway was the first country to adopt in-ovo sexing for its local egg market without regulatory pressure in 2023 and its market penetration has now reached 20-25%.
In Switzerland, poultry industry stakeholders also decided to adopt in-ovo sexing technology in the country’s 2 main hatcheries, Animalco and Prodavi. The hatcheries are installing Orbem’s technology and will begin production for the entire Swiss layer flock this year.
Hatcheries in the US have only recently installed in-ovo sexing equipment. Though the first few flocks of chicks have been produced, these flocks’ eggs will not hit the grocery store shelves until this summer. Taken together, all production so far in the US accounts for less than 1% of the entire flock of layers, but is expected to rapidly increase in the coming year.
The UK is a different story. Although one of Agri-Advanced Technologies’ (AAT) Cheggy machines has been installed in the country, UK retailers and egg producers have not yet incorporated hens produced using this technology into their supply chains.
US poised for growth
The most notable growth in the coming years will be in the US market. There are now 3 in-ovo sexing machines in US hatcheries, two AAT Cheggy machines at Hyline hatcheries and a Respeggt Circuit at Hendrix’s Nebraska facility. It was also recently reported that Orbem opened an office in Texas and is preparing for US installations in 2025. This all comes before the first eggs free of male culling are even available on grocery store shelves in the country.
Early adoption of the technology from specialty egg producers NestFresh and Kipster have prompted all major specialty brands to consider how the introduction of this new egg category will affect their brand positioning.
But it is not just the US speciality sector where growth in demand is expected over the coming year. The largest US retailer, Walmart, has also included in-ovo sexing as a focus area in their latest egg supplier guidelines, suggesting in-ovo sexing might start to gain a footing in various segments of the market simultaneously.
Strong preference for cull-free eggs
Innovative Animal Ag sees continued strength in Europe as the market penetration continues to climb over the coming years. In the medium term, a regulatory ban on culling in Italy, set to take effect by 2027, will ultimately increase the market penetration in Europe by around 40 million layers.
Beyond regulatory pressure, more and more European hatcheries are likely to move forward with in-ovo sexing production in the coming years. Robust consumer survey data suggest that there is a strong preference for cull-free eggs among consumers and that more than half of consumers would be willing to pay more. Similar to the US, the average reported willingness-to-pay is many multiples of the actual added cost of using the technology for egg producers, indicating that there is a unique opportunity for a higher-margin category of egg that appeals to upmarket consumers.
