Shake Shack expects competitors to ditch eggs for chicken and beef
High egg prices may lead to breakfast menus with less egg and more beef or chicken, Shake Shack’s CEO told analysts on Thursday.
The executive, Rob Lynch, made the comment in response to a question about the impacts of tariffs and inflation. He noted that Shake Shack sources most of its ingredients domestically and doesn’t use very many eggs, but if other restaurants start consuming more chicken and beef, that might have a ripple effect on Shake Shack:
“We don’t have a breakfast business, a big breakfast business. So we don’t have the exposure to eggs. But other restaurant companies that have exposure to eggs may be moving away from eggs in the time being, which means they’re going to offer more beef products or chicken products to complement or to substitute for that high-cost item. And when that consumption demand changes, it has the potential to change even some domestic pricing.”
It wouldn’t be the first time companies have made such adjustments. As prices for beef surpassed chicken, food companies started offering more chicken products. McDonald’s, for one, now sells more chicken than beef.
