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TL;DR
- As of Q1 2026, 80% of major restaurant chain locations in the Philippines, including the country’s three largest restaurant groups, have committed to sourcing only cage-free eggs, representing 47 brands and over 11,200 outlets nationwide. Note that prior to 2022, no Philippine-based company had a public CF egg policy commitment.
- 84% of major hotel group locations are also committed, up from just 20% in 2020—at which point every single committed hotel was an international chain.
- This shift happened in 4 years, driven almost entirely by targeted corporate engagement by Lever Foundation’s locally-based Philippines team.
- The country’s largest egg producer has gone from 1% to around 10% of egg production being cage-free
"Nearly 80% of Philippine Restaurant Chain Locations Commit to Sourcing Cage-Free Eggs by 2035"—I don't know about you, but I was incredibly surprised when I heard this from my teammates. The Philippines is not a country where you'd typically expect this. It's a low-income country with price-sensitive consumers, limited regulatory pressure on animal welfare, and an egg industry that until recently had little commercial incentive to go cage-free (CF). Yet here we are.
The committed brands include the country's largest and most beloved fast food and cafe chains like Shakey’s, Max’s, Jollibee, Pancake House, Chowking, , Mang Inasal, Greenwich, Yellow Cab Pizza, and dozens more. Together, these chains operate over 11,200 locations across the Philippines. The hospitality side tells a similar story: Robinson’s, SM Hotels, Resorts World, Ayala, and most of the country's other major hotel groups are committed.
The Numbers
Lever Foundation tracks Philippine commitments through annual scorecards, which assess the top restaurant and hotel groups in the country by number of locations.
Restaurant sector:
The 2025 Philippines Restaurant Industry Cage-Free Scorecard assessed 67 major restaurant brands (those with 20 or more locations in the Philippines). Of these:
- 70% of brands (47 out of 67) have committed to 100% CF egg sourcing
- 77% of all assessed locations nationwide are covered by a CF commitment—more than 11,200 outlets in total
- Three major restaurant groups with a combined 2,140 stores confirmed their CF egg policies in 2025 alone, adding 8 percentage points to the location figure in a single year
The trajectory: 69% of locations in 2024 → 77% in 2025 → 79% in Q1 2026 → over 80% with a new policy commitment about to be released
Hospitality sector:
The hospitality picture is equally striking. In 2021, only 20% of major hotel groups in the Philippines had a CF egg commitment—and every single one was an international brand. By 2023, Lever’s 2023 Philippines Hospitality Industry Cage-Free Scorecard found that figure had reached 62% of hotel locations. Following additional commitments from hotel operators in the Philippines, it has since risen to 84%—now including nearly every major Filipino hotel group.
Committed hotel groups include Megaworld Hotels, SM Hotels and Conventions, Robinsons Hotels, AyalaLand Hospitality, Okada, ResortsWorld, and many others.
In other words, from 20% to 84% in just four years, with the domestic hotel industry moving almost entirely during that period.
The Market Side
In the past 4 years, with a lean and dedicated team based in the Philippines, Lever has built the feasibility case for CF commitments and connected buyers with suppliers capable of fulfilling them. From what I've gathered, there are no "magic tricks" in securing a commitment. It took us years to build up relationships and reputation before we could secure meetings with some businesses, and the Lever team is often positioned as a helpful resource to those businesses. To be useful, the team needs to be disciplined - knowing how to leverage our knowledge base and read market dynamics when companies push back on commitment.
Of the domestic company commitments secured, Lever was the only NGO that worked on any of them, other than one major notable exception in Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC). Lever worked positively with the company from within the Philippines - they told Lever that we were the only NGO they had ever had in their office for meetings, while at the same time, Open Wings Alliance and other non-profits were targeting JFC in various countries. It became clear over the course of our work that Filipino companies were often more receptive than anticipated. Several corporations committed once we helped them make sense of the logistics, that the supply existed, the pricing had become competitive, and that their peers were moving.
The Supply Side
Corporate commitments are only meaningful if they can be delivered within the promised timeline. One reason why I wouldn’t be wary of these companies falling through is that the Philippines market is ready for the transition - our Supplier Partnership team had assured me that while the Philippines market side moved quickly, the supply side kept pace.
Bounty Fresh, the leading CF egg producer in the Philippines, has been expanding its production as commitments have accumulated, moving from about 1% of its production being CF four years ago to roughly 10% of its production being CF today. The company also offers CF eggs at just 10% above the price of its conventional caged eggs—a smaller price premium than has historically been the case in other markets. For food operators worried about margin impact, this pricing makes CF even more commercially viable, even at scale.
The Philippines' Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards also developed comprehensive animal welfare guidelines for CF egg production in 2020, providing regulatory clarity that has given both producers and buyers a framework to work within.
The Work Behind the Number
At 113 million people, the Philippines is a significant market. When I talk to people about animal welfare in Asia, the common response I get is excitement followed by uncertainty and skepticism—not about the importance of the issue, but about whether meaningful change is achievable. Corporate policy campaigns in Asia are seen as harder than in the West: different regulatory environments, less consumer pressure, complex supply chains, cultural unfamiliarity with animal welfare as a purchasing criterion.
I certainly had those doubts before joining Lever, but a year working here gave me more clarity on why some wins aren't so surprising when “all stars are aligned”. Lever has been operating in Asia for over eight years, with teams that work strategically alongside one another to promote, facilitate and implement the actual transition to better welfare. Much of the credit also belongs to our locally-based team, who engage professionally with stakeholders at every level—from farmers to executives.
Before I end, I want to give a huge shout-out to my teammate, Robyn del Rosario, for her fantastic work in the region (with the support of her manager, Robyn has generated every CF policy success in the Philippines noted in this article) and for walking me through all of the information above. I, along with everyone who cares about this work dearly, am continuously impressed by what you've achieved:)
Lever Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit working to eliminate the worst form of factory farming practices in Asia. If you'd like to follow our work, please subscribe to our newsletter and find us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook! To learn more or discuss supporting this work, feel free to leave me a message at [email protected].
