Animal Equality protests Kroger-sponsored events over broken cage-free commitment
Kroger sponsors major events and sports teams across the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The company pays $5 million per year to feature its name on Cincinnati Reds jersey sleeves and is a major sponsor of the Cincinnati Open. Kroger has spent heavily on those sponsorships to project the image of a company its customers can trust.
Kroger’s broken promise to animals tells a different story.
Why is Animal Equality protesting Kroger-sponsored events?
In 2016, Kroger pledged to buy only cage-free eggs by 2025. That deadline has passed, and the company now refuses to follow through, citing customer affordability. Yet, Kroger continues to spend millions of dollars each year on marketing aimed at the same customers while millions of hens suffer the consequences.
Animal Equality protests at Kroger-sponsored events to put that unfulfilled commitment in front of the audiences the company is working to win over.
Tell Kroger’s CEO it is time to meet.
Which Kroger-sponsored events has Animal Equality protested?
Kroger Queen City Championship
Sponsorship cost: Undisclosed
Animal Equality protested outside the entrance of the LPGA tournament held at Cincinnati’s Maketewah Country Club in May. Update: On June 30, 2026, it was reported that Kroger would not renew its sponsorship of the tournament.
Taste of Cincinnati
Sponsorship cost: Undisclosed
Kroger is the official presenting sponsor of Taste of Cincinnati, an annual culinary arts and music festival held over Memorial Day weekend in downtown Cincinnati. Animal Equality protested outside the festival entrance, putting Kroger’s broken cage-free commitment in front of attendees.
Great American Ball Park
Sponsorship cost: $5 million per year
At the home of the Cincinnati Reds, where Kroger is a jersey sponsor, activists wearing shirts spelling out CAGE FREE sat directly above a prominent Kroger logo, creating a visible contrast between the company’s branding and its broken cage-free commitment.
Cincinnati Open
Sponsorship cost: Undisclosed
Animal Equality protested outside the entrance of the Cincinnati Open in August, where Kroger is a major sponsor and its branding is highly visible throughout the event.
Kroger Symphony on the Prairie
Sponsorship cost: Approx. $100,000 per year
The campaign also reached the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s summer concert series at Conner Prairie in Fishers, Indiana, where Kroger is a named sponsor.
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