Thailand’s Supermarket Cage-Free Ranking 2025: Why Corporate Transparency and Higher Animal Welfare Standards Are Urgently Needed

As consumers around the world increasingly demand ethical, transparent, and sustainable food systems, Sinergia Animal Thailand has released the country’s first-ever Supermarket Cage-Free Ranking, evaluating 14 major supermarket and retail chains in Thailand on their transparency, commitments, and progress toward sourcing cage-free eggs.

This landmark ranking aims to raise public awareness, strengthen corporate accountability, and accelerate Thailand’s transition to higher animal welfare standards within the food retail sector. Based on publicly available information, the assessment highlights both encouraging leadership and significant gaps among Thailand’s largest retailers.

Key Findings from the Supermarket Cage-Free Ranking 2025

The evaluation is based on six criteria, with a maximum possible score of 18 points, assessing retailers’ public policies, coverage, timelines, and transparency related to cage-free egg sourcing.

The results reveal that only five out of fourteen retailers have published cage-free policies or demonstrated meaningful initiatives.

Top-Performing Supermarkets

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• Rimping - 72% (Grade A)Earned high marks for comprehensive policy coverage and commitments supported by an official declaration.

• Tops, Makro, and Lotus’s - 55% (Grade B)Showed partial progress with defined transition periods, though gaps remain in policy coverage and public reporting.

Retailers with No Public Cage-Free Commitment

Several large and influential retailers -  including 7-Eleven, Big C, Villa Market, Foodland, Lawson 108, MaxValu, and Gourmet Market - received a score of 0%, indicating no publicly available cage-free egg sourcing policy.

The full Thailand Supermarket Cage-Free Ranking 2025 is available at: https://www.breakingfreefromcages.com/

Why Cage-Free Commitments Matter for Animal Welfare in Thailand

Thailand currently has over 54 million hens confined in battery cages, many with less space than an A4 sheet of paper. This extreme confinement prevents hens from performing basic natural behaviours such as stretching their wings, nesting, or dust bathing, and is widely recognised as one of the most severe forms of animal suffering.

“This ranking provides a clear, data-driven picture of where Thailand’s retailers stand in their cage-free commitments. While some companies demonstrate promising leadership, the overall landscape shows considerable room for improvement. Retailers play a pivotal role in shaping responsible markets, and their sourcing policies must reflect this responsibility.”— Saneekan Rosamontri, Managing Director, Sinergia Animal Thailand

Partial Progress Is Not Enough

The ranking also exposes inconsistencies within major corporate groups. For example, while Makro and Lotus’s, both under CP Axtra, achieved relatively strong scores, the group’s affiliated company CP All, which operates 7-Eleven, has no public cage-free policy.

This lack of unified standards within the same corporate ecosystem highlights the urgent need for group-wide, consistent animal welfare commitments.

“Retailers, regardless of size, can make measurable progress by setting clear timelines, ensuring comprehensive coverage, and reporting transparently. Incremental steps, when implemented consistently, can transform industry standards and consumer expectations.”— Hatai Limprayoonyong, Manager of Programs, Sinergia Animal Thailand

A Global Imperative: Cage-Free Is Becoming the Norm

Globally, momentum toward cage-free egg production is accelerating. Countries such as Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, and Iceland have already enacted battery cage bans, while many leading international food companies have committed to eliminating cages from their global supply chains.

“Moving toward cage-free sourcing aligns with global best practices and is increasingly expected by consumers, investors, and regulators worldwide. Thailand’s retail sector now has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in Southeast Asia by adopting unified, time-bound cage-free commitments.”- Carolina Galvani, Executive Director, Sinergia Animal

The Thai Supermarket ranking is published at the same moment as  Sinergia Animal’s 2025 Cage-Free Tracker, monitoring corporate cage-free commitments across Asia - these reports expose critical gaps between public pledges, real implementation of improved animal welfare in the region ,and consumer demand. 

A Call for Unified Action from Thailand’s Retail Sector

Sinergia Animal urges Thailand’s major supermarkets and convenience store chains - particularly those with significant market share and influence - to adopt clear, public, and time-bound cage-free egg commitments.

By taking collective action, retailers can help transform Thailand’s food system into one that is more humane, transparent, and sustainable, while aligning with global animal welfare expectations.