By Sarah Walker
25 January 2024
Phil Twizell owner of The Good Egg Fellas “shell-shocked” at the demand for cracking quality eggs from his 16,000 hens.
When it comes to the ability to deliver a high-quality product safely, direct to customers’ doors, you’d be forgiven for thinking it would be an impossible task in the case of fresh eggs!
But that’s exactly what Phil Twizell, of The Good Egg Fellas, based in Darlington in the North East of England, promises his customers, who include discerning cafes, restaurants and bakeries throughout the UK – such is the EGGcellent quality of his farm produce.
What’s more, with the help of carefully selected couriers, Phil’s fresh eggs can now be delivered to your door, as he has expanded into the domestic market and believes his hens are providing his customers with (probably) the best eggs in the UK!
“With our eggs, you get the ultimate in freshness, as we get them out on the day of lay,” he says.
“The only way you can get them any fresher is to have your own hens.
“When we started out, we sold the eggs on the general wholesale market, which is quite volatile, but we have always sold a few privately to local customers – and that side of the business has grown organically.”
Phil previously kept pigs, but in 2009, he decided to devote life on his farm to hens and “run down the hog end”.
“At the time, I didn’t know anything about hens,” admits Phil, who now prides himself on the exceptional quality on his RSPCA-assured farm.
His 16,000 hens have an impressive range to roam in, including the shelter of 4,000 specially planted bee friendly trees and a winter garden, which enables the hens to shelter when outside.
“Before I started in free range, I did a veterinary husbandry course and lots of research on hens but hen husbandry has proved to be one of those things you learn as you go on,” he explained.
“We’ve built up a bank of knowledge on how to look after the hens and we are solely focused on welfare and husbandry as we have found that if the hens are happy, we get great quality eggs.”
When he started out, Phil never imagined he would be sending eggs to customers throughout the UK.
But with the help of some clever marketing from the team at North Yorkshire based clickthrough digital Ltd, the demand for Good Egg Fella eggs delivered direct to the door is growing and growing.
“Our new website and the work Stephen Prince at clickthrough has done has helped to take the household sales to the next level,” says Phil.
“My daughter Kate also came into the business last year after moving back from Manchester, and after working closely with Clickthrough digital on the marketing side, sales are rising.
“About 50% of the eggs go to London, where they like the quality and freshness of the eggs.
“There are not many free range egg units in London and like all customers, they can now shop online and get the eggs delivered to their door.”
The farm produces 105,000 eggs every week, but every 15 months, the flock is changed – and it takes six weeks before the new hens start producing.
During that period, Phil actually buys eggs from other farmers for his regular customers – but he has to warn his customers that they are not receiving the high quality of product they are accustomed to.
“We never seem to be able to buy in the same quality of eggs we produce,” Phil claims.
“It just reinforces the fact they are getting a better quality product when they buy from us.”
Many of his regular customers buy on subscription to ensure priority delivery “after all,” he says, “the hen only lays one egg a day and customers sometimes have to wait a day or two for their eggs to be laid”.
“We had thought that to justify the cost of the delivery you need to get a decent quantity of eggs and we would need to sell them in minimum batches of 90 eggs – but we are increasingly selling trays of 30 eggs direct to households,” Phil says.
“Due to the delivery costs, customers purchasing smaller quantities have to pay a premium for their eggs.
“However, this doesn’t seem to have impacted on the demand.”
As you would expect for such a delicate item, Phil has had bespoke sturdy cardboard boxes made for transit and – while there have been one or two mishaps – the eggs generally arrive at their destination in im-peckable condition.
Phil believes the eggs are up there with the very best in the UK and says they are particularly delightful for poaching because they are so fresh.
“Because of the traditional supply chain, the eggs you normally buy in shops can be a couple of weeks old before you get them,” he says.
“But the fresher the egg, the better they are for poaching.”
The team work hard to ensure the hens are protected from respiratory diseases, with a vaccine programme in place.
Strict biosecurity protocols protect against avian influenza, including vehicles washing their wheels as they enter the premises.
“We spend a lot of time looking after our hens and pride ourselves on how well cared for they are,” he says.
In fact, you could say Phil’s hens live the life of CLUXURY which means the results are EGGCELLENT!
“Customers like the provenance and the fact they are dealing directly with us,” Phil says.
“Our customers like to support British farming and enjoy high quality British food.
“We are appealing to a discerning customer looking for a discerning product.”
You may also be interested in.
Businesses urged to support female rugby players
Sponsorship required to help develop sport and prevent brain drain from our region Women’s rugby in the North East and Yorkshire is under threat and scores of talented women are…
By Sarah Walker
16 April 2025
Former police officer wins Innovation Award for new app
Misper is revolutionising the way searches for missing people are coordinated – and it’s attracting global attention A former police officer, who turned personal grief and frontline experience into a…
By Sarah Dale
14 April 2025
Ex-police officer Paul Cooper shortlisted for Innovation Award for new app
Misper is revolutionising the way searches for missing people are coordinated – and it’s attracting global attention A former police officer, who turned personal grief and frontline experience into a…
By Sarah Dale
8 April 2025
We believe all businesses have a story to tell.
Let us help you tell yours!