So far in 2025, the price of a dozen eggs has increased by around 1.50 euros, which represents an increase of 50% due to the effects of avian flu, which has caused the loss of more than two million laying hens in Spain. Added to this are accumulated increases of up to 137% since 2021, which has made eggs one of the most expensive products in the supermarket. This makes us wonder what this increase is due to and, above all, whether it is still profitable to produce eggs.
On the YouTube channel of Adrián G. Martín, a young 27-year-old entrepreneur and owner of the Can Costeta Poultry farm in Mallorca, explains what the free-range egg business is like, what it costs and if it is profitable and worth dedicating himself to this profession with more and more problems.
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“It’s hard work, many hours and you have to fight hard to achieve profitability,” he says. In a country where more than 20 farms close a day, Joan has opted for direct and local production, convinced that it is the only way to survive in the primary sector.
“No one wanted to finance me”
Although Joan studied Business Administration and Management (ADE) and had the easy option before him of a life of an office, a tie and stability, he decided to opt for the countryside, chickens and rural entrepreneurship. “Producing for someone else and having someone else resell it has an expiration date,” he says.
At only 22 years old, he started his business with a prize of 700 euros that he won in a self-employment contest. “There was no one who wanted to give me financing because I was young, so I had to start the business as best I could and reinvest all the time,” he explains.
It started with just over 100 chickens and a mixed production in which eggs represented only 25% of the business. Today, five years later, he has left meat behind to focus exclusively on free-range production.
“There are no free weekends here”
Avícola Can Costeta’s business model is based on quality and animal welfare. Each hen has more than 4 m² to move freely, compared to the cages of industrial farms, which are smaller than an A4 sheet of paper.
“Here we don’t take care of hens, we take care of queens,” says Joan, convinced that animal welfare is reflected in the quality of the product: “We are at 93% daily laying, while in an industrial plant they hardly reach that performance.”
Setting up a free-range farm costs more than 60,000 euros in initial infrastructure alone. Added to this are the costs of feed, vehicles adapted for delivery, automation, packaging and, above all, personnel.
“The main expense is personnel, because this is from Monday to Sunday. There are no free weekends here. We also spend a lot on feeding the chickens and on analytics to guarantee quality.”
Regarding profitability, Joan details that a free-range egg sells for about 0.38 euros per unit, compared to 0.28 euros for an industrial one. “Profitability is around 25% compared to 10-12% for an industrial farm. But it is a small margin and every euro counts. You can only make a living from this if you produce and distribute yourself, eliminating intermediaries,” he clarifies.
Currently, Joan distributes her eggs directly to shops, ovens, fruit shops and restaurants, including several with Michelin stars, totaling 94 points of sale in Mallorca. “More and more customers are reaching us through word of mouth. A chef tries our eggs in a restaurant and wants them for his menu.”
Regarding scaling the business and entering large stores, he explains that “right now we see it as unviable. We do not want to fight for price, we prefer to offer a quality product and for the price to be fair.”
The future of the sector, according to Joan, involves vertical integration, that is, producers are also distributors. “60 years ago, one in three Spaniards worked in the countryside. Today it is less than 4%. Only projects that produce and distribute themselves will survive. Producing for someone else and letting them resell has its days numbered.”
In short, the free-range egg business in Spain is profitable, but at the cost of constant work, investment and almost artisanal management. “This is work from Monday to Sunday, without holidays, and you have to fight for every euro. If you don’t have passion and don’t bet on quality, it’s impossible to last.”