PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — For the mom-and-daughter business owners at Mmmm Delicious Cupcakes in New Port Richey, the hunt for eggs is a full-time job if they can find any eggs.
"It's a struggle every day. And we call it going on an egg hunt. I spend my weekends going on egg hunts," Jennifer Franks, co-owner of Mmmm Delicious Cupcakes, told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska.
The bakery, located at 6817 State Road 54, uses about 30 dozen eggs per week—that's 360 eggs!
"We were paying around 16 cents an egg right now, and we're paying anywhere between 60 and 70 cents an egg," Franks said. "So, we go through about 30 dozen a week. So, if you do the math, we were paying $60, and now we're paying 225 to $260 a week for eggs. So if you do the math on that, that's about $800 more a month."
Franks purchased a freeze dryer to add more sweets and treats to the store that don't require eggs. They are also getting creative with chocolate and partnering with other businesses for wholesale products.
"This is just a complete nightmare, these eggs," Franks said.
Earlier this year, despite all her efforts, the business closed for an entire day because they didn't have eggs to bake their cupcakes.
"Many tears have been shed over eggs because I can't open my business," Franks said. "It is our livelihood. There was a day we could not bake, which was the beginning of all of this. And that is very it was; it was awful like many tears were shed," Franks said. "We hand make everything. Everything is made from scratch. We make a real buttercream. All of our cupcakes are made from scratch."
Fat Beet Farm is working to get more hens in the coop to lay eggs for customers.
"What is the impact that you are seeing when it comes to this egg crisis?" Paluska asked Josie Rothschild, a farmer and jack of all trades at the family-run company.
"For us, it's more for our customers, so we've been trying to work with other local farms to increase our production so we can sell it to our customers," Rothschild said. "We're working on getting more chickens in here. Let's get more eggs so we can, you know, lower those costs a little bit and get more eggs to our consumers because they are at a place where they don't just want an egg that's, you know, mass-produced. They want an egg that's good for them. So our goal is to increase the number of eggs that we have that are nutrient-dense and healthy for our customers."
Their farm-fresh eggs sell out in seconds, and they are limited to a dozen per customer. It is first come, first served.
"We have a bunch of tours that come out, and we've noticed that a lot of people are coming on tours just so they can learn about backyard farming and backyard gardens and having chickens of their own," Rothschild said. "I've noticed that when we do stop at the chicken coop, we're, you know, kind of going through all the tips and tricks."
For the owners of Mmmm Delicious Cupcakes, there is no substitute for real eggs.
"Did we try apple sauce? Yes. Is it the same? No. Did we try the can of soda? Yes, is it the same? No. You can get a cake mix where you add water to it. Did we try that? We did. Was it gross? Yes. So we don't want to change our product. It's been here for 15 years. Everyone loves our products. I don't want to change it."
MARCH 2025 PRICE TRACKER
TARGET
AVOCADO— .99 cents
HONEY CRISP APPLES— $1.59 each
DOZ. EGGS— $4.99
CHICKEN BREASTS—$2.69
GROUND BEEF 93/10— $7.49
WAL-MART
AVOCADO— .96 CENTS
HONEY CRISP APPLES— $1.97 EACH
DOZ. EGGS— $4.97
CHICKEN BREASTS BULK—$2.67/lb
GROUND BEEF 93/7—$7.87
PUBLIX
AVOCADO— $1.66 each
HONEY CRISP APPLES— $3.79 lb
DOZ. EGGS— $4.99
CHICKEN BREASTS—$4.99
GROUND BEEF 93/7— $7.49
ALDI
AVOCADO— .89 cents
HONEY CRISP APPLES— $3.99 —2pound bag
DOZ. EGGS— $5.97
CHICKEN BREASTS—$2.49
GROUND BEEF 93/7— $6.29lb
WINN-DIXIE
AVOCADO— .80 cents
HONEY CRISP APPLES— $3.49 lb
DOZ. EGGS— $6.49
CHICKEN BREASTS—$2.99
GROUND BEEF 90/10— $6.99
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