Le Pain Quotidien expands its cage-free commitment to Colombia

International bakery and restaurant chain Le Pain Quotidien has expanded its cage-free commitment to Colombia, after talks with Sinergia Animal. The policy will apply to its two locations in Bogotá, its online store, and its catering service, with a 2025 deadline.

LPQ operates more than 260 stores in nearly 20 countries around the world. To date, the company has made cage-free commitments in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and now Colombia. In addition to its animal-based baked goods, sandwiches, and beverages, the franchise offers plant-based alternatives to its customers.

Seventy percent of the egg industry in Colombia uses a production system called "battery cages". Cages have been widely criticized by the scientific community and animal protection organizations because they cause immense cruelty to egg-laying hens.

Under this intensive model, laying hens are unable to perform many of their natural behaviors, such as spreading their wings completely, pecking, and/or nesting. The cages’ wires cause injuries and feather loss. Because of the extreme confinement, painful bone diseases develop. Each bird’s personal space is approximately the size of a sheet of paper, generating intense stress and suffering.

Faced with the reality that these cruel cages affect nearly 50 million hens in the country, numerous Colombian companies such as Grupo IGA, Presto, OMA, Jeno's Pizza, Juan Valdez, and Crepes & Waffles have adopted policies to change their supply chains and use only eggs from cage-free systems. Help us get Grupo Éxito to make a clear, comprehensive, brand-wide commitment by signing the petition!