On social media, a good crisis never goes to waste.
The ongoing nationwide egg shortages tied to the bird flu emergency have spawned their own content niche, with people posting videos about everything from the egg inventory at grocery stores to their experiences with hatching their own chicks.
Content related to the egg shortage has amassed millions of views online in recent weeks, as consumers turn to social media to help them navigate the egg frenzy.
“I’m not really surprised only because everyone’s talking about the price of eggs and how expensive everything is,” said TikTok creator Magda, who posts videos to her TikTok account magdacious about the fluctuating cost of eggs since President Donald Trump took office for a second term. “I think it affects a lot of people.”
The New Jersey-based creator, who asked to be identified only by her first name due to doxxing concerns, said she has tried to “go viral” on social media since 2012. But it wasn’t until last month that people began gravitating toward her content, asking her to share her Google Sheet that tracks egg costs at several grocery stores nationwide.
A dozen large Grade A eggs hit an average of $4.95 in January, federal data shows, surpassing the last peak of $4.82 in January 2023. In between, prices dipped — last January, the average was just $2.52. Some of the nation’s biggest grocery store chains — including Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Costco — have begun limiting the number of eggs individual consumers can buy.
Like Magda, other creators have also seen success with their egg content, even ones that weren’t posted with the current situation in mind.
“I never set out to actually do a series,” said Magda. “But because it drove so much engagement, and so many people wanted to learn more and were invested in, you know, the bit, I’m like, ‘Well, sure. Why not? Someone’s got to do it.’”
On TikTok, one video shows a long line outside of Costco and then a frenzy surrounding the egg display. Several broken cartons of eggs can be seen amid the chaos. In another video, one man documents himself getting his girlfriend “something expensive” for Valentine’s Day: eggs at the grocery store.
One particularly popular video from artist and mother Kate Vanden Bosch documented her buying fertile eggs from Trader Joe’s and incubating them. Twenty-one days later, Vanden Bosch had eight chicks — and now, almost 5 million views on a TikTok documenting the journey.
Though her original intent was not to raise chickens to mitigate the price of eggs, Vanden Bosch said she believes it’s likely the reason so many viewers have flocked to her content. Some of her viewers have commented that they feel inspired to replicate her experiment.
“People are just realizing more just how bad our food system is,” she said. “And I think people are curious about, you know, just growing their own food and raising their own food. So it’s interesting.”