Hatching a Revolution
Interview with Steven Vervaeke, CEO and Erik Hoeven, R&D Coordinator
The global poultry industry is undergoing a profound transformation. Rising consumer awareness of animal welfare, sustainability, and food quality/food safety is reshaping traditional production methods. Hatcheries and broiler farms are increasingly investing in innovation, automation, and data-driven management to meet these demands while maintaining efficiency. Amid this evolution, forward-thinking companies are proving that profitability and responsibility can go hand in hand – companies like the Yellow Bird Group, which has combined decades of family tradition with cutting-edge research to redefine the future of hatching and broiler production.
In an industry often considered conservative, Belgian company ‘Yellow Bird’ has positioned itself as a true pioneer. This family-owned group combines nearly a century of expertise with forward-looking innovation in animal welfare, data-driven efficiency, and sustainable hatching egg and day-old chick production.
A Global Company
The story of begins in 1933, when Steven Vervaeke’s grandfather founded (broiler and layer) hatchery Vervaeke-Belavi in Tielt, Belgium. What started as a small family business has grown, after teaming up with the Belgian families Destrooper and Moonen, into a global Yellow Bird network of 15 hatcheries across Europe and Asia, employing about 120 people in Belgium and close to 1,000 throughout the Yellow Bird Group. “Over the years we stopped the layer business and specialized entirely in the broiler sector and the result is a global weekly production of about 10 million quality day-old broiler chicks,” explains Steven Vervaeke, CEO of the Yellow Bird group and co-shareholder. “Over the years we have expanded through strategic partnerships and acquisitions, starting in 2003, and built an international group active in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia.” Today, the Yellow Bird Group generates an impressive 270 million EUR in revenue, with Vervaeke-Belavi and its associated Belgian units (Belgabroed and slow-grower hatchery L’Oeuf d’Or) contributing around 120 million EUR. Despite its size, the company remains firmly family-owned and family-driven. “With Jef Moonen and Charlotte Destrooper, we are now in the fourth generation,” says Steven Vervaeke proudly. “Our long-term success is based on passion and commitment across generations – not just within my family but also among the other shareholder families who share our vision.”
Hatching Innovation
At the heart of the company’s innovation lies ‘NestBorn’ (www.nestborn.eu), a system that redefines how chicks are hatched. “Instead of completing the hatching process in industrial hatcheries, the NestBorn concept brings pre-incubated eggs to the broiler farm, where a self-developed mobile egg transfer machine gently but quickly places the eggs on the floor of the broiler farm, on wood shavings,” explains Erik Hoeven, R&D Coordinator. “In the next few days, the chicks will hatch in a more natural way – directly in the barn where they will grow – with immediate and uninterrupted access to feed and water and without having been subject to stress related to hatchery handlings and subsequent transport.” “By allowing the chicks to hatch under natural conditions, we avoid hunger and thirst during the first critical hours of life,” explains CEO Steven Vervaeke. The benefits of this ‘on-farm hatching’ approach with optimal chick welfare are also tangible in terms of improved chick health. Studies with universities show that animal welfare improvements lead directly to better (gut) health with up to 50% less utilisation of antibiotics. “In fact, there’s a six times higher chance that the birds can be raised completely without antibiotics and at the same time performance is improved,” says Steven Vervaeke.
Innovation, Data, and People
Innovation at Yellow Bird goes far beyond product design and production methods. The company was an early adopter of digitalization and data analysis, investing in IT long before artificial intelligence became a trend. “In such a competitive industry, we can’t rely only on gut instinct,” says Erik Hoeven. “We collect and analyze data to improve efficiency, welfare, and sustainability for ourselves and for our partners.” The company is also a front-runner in organic and various other slow-growing concepts, such as European Chicken Commitment. “We are proud to be the only supplier for the Belgian markets,” states Steven Vervaeke. “Our experience in organic production has taught us how to make conventional systems more sustainable as well. People are key in our companies. We are very proud that we are able to attract – and keep – young and talented people for all kind of different positions within Yellow Bird and giving them the opportunities to grow and develop. We believe that the international character of our company is appealing, but also the fact that our drivers are passion and the desire to innovate.”
A Vision for the Future
Looking ahead, Yellow Bird – mainly through the patented in-house NestBorn innovation, aims to expand its expertise globally, sharing knowledge and technology with poultry producers worldwide. “Our strategy is not only to grow our production capacity,” says Steven Vervaeke, “but also to transfer our know-how to partners who can apply it in their own hatcheries and integrations, with already successful implementation throughout the EU but also in the UK, USA and South-Africa.” The biggest challenge remains convincing a conservative industry to adopt new technologies such as on-farm hatching. “It’s not easy to bring disruptive innovation to such a traditional sector,” admits Steven Vervaeke. “But once people see the benefits – improved welfare, healthier animals, better product quality and possibilities to hatch 24/7 – they become convinced very quickly.” Retailers are beginning to take notice. In Belgium and the UK, major supermarket chains are already demanding on-farm hatching for their chicken products as part of their sustainability commitments. “That’s a great development,” says Erik Hoeven. “It shows that our message is reaching even the end consumer.” Ultimately, the company’s long-term success is built on a simple but powerful philosophy. “We live and breathe this business,” concludes Steven Vervaeke. “We’re passionate about poultry, innovation, and sustainability. Our goal is to make a difference – for our customers, for our partners, for animal welfare, and for future generations.”