Associate Editor

By Sammy Bredar

As we start off the new year, poultry producers need to know what consumers want out of their products. Circana and 210 Analytics share their category insights to help prepare producers for 2024.

Chris Dubois, executive vice president for fresh/protein practice for Circana, noted the affordability and strong consumer demand for chicken in retail.

High price points are putting heavy strain on American consumers, which is changing the retail landscape, said Anne-Marie Roerink, principal for 210 Analytics.

"[Consumers] are getting creative in finding sales promotions, shifting protein dollars across species and cuts and some are even switching stores," Roerink said. She noted one way consumers have cut spending is by purchasing smaller packages.

Another way consumers are cutting costs is by switching to private-label chicken products, which present a more affordable alternative to branded offerings. “Private label’s been growing almost twice as fast as branded so far in the last year,” Dubois said.

He also noted that, as some brands are taking a step back in the store a bit, private label is happily taking up their share, coming to market with strong private-label programs. “The quality of private-label chicken’s just really extremely high across the U.S.,” he said.

Though the meat case has experienced a slight decline this year, chicken has had slight growth in both volume and sales, Dubois said. He noted that this growth is likely due to chicken's lower price point in relation to other protein choices.

“Really, it comes down to the combination of price, convenience and flexibility,” Dubois said.

Convenience is a huge driver for chicken at retail. With the popularity of air fryers, chicken is an even more convenient option for consumers who want to spend less time in the kitchen.

"Consumers have combined their love for air fryers with their love for chicken wings," Roerink said. "In fact, Perdue just came out with a new innovation surrounding air fryer ready chicken wings in a variety of flavors.”

Dubois noted that younger generations particularly favor air fryers, due to either space restrictions or personal preference. He emphasized that, as the younger generations gain more spending power, the grocery store is going to look very different regarding aisle and category sizes.

Even in the case of a future shift in store layout, Dubois remains optimistic for chicken. "Chicken is highly advantaged. Younger generations buy a lot more than the average U.S. household." Additionally, he noted that as younger generations experiment with flavor profiles, chicken offers an avenue for creative experimentation. Dubois also noted the mess-free appeal of chicken for households with children.

"But the one thing I’ve seen over time is dark meat … the younger generations have been part of driving that over the last few years. Frankly, it’s a combination ... of flavor, it’s a combination of socials recipes that hit on that, and then sometimes it’s just cooking appliances," he said.

Though dark meat specifically is quite popular with younger generations, chicken is doing well across the board. In an expensive marketplace, chicken offers what consumers are seeking. "Even if convenient chicken costs a little bit more, it’s still not overwhelming," Dubois said.

For fresh and frozen offerings, value-added products are a solid way to cater to consumer demand. "Some retailers are leveraging these … offerings to play into seasonal trends or to have a differentiated, signature line of flavors. Some use the same line of flavors in deli-prepared chicken as well to truly create a signature [offering]."

Dubois noted that e-commerce has reaccelerated since the pandemic, aligning with the consumer demand for convenience: Consumers want easy preparation and convenient products, but they want to get those products in a convenient way as well. Consumers are getting back time in their busy schedules due to the convenience of e-commerce, he said.

Affordability and convenience are clearly driving chicken category growth. According to Technomic’s Center of the Plate: Poultry Consumer Trend Report, consumers eat more chicken than any other protein. This doesn’t mean all poultry is popular, though — in fact, turkey is the least-consumed protein type.

Ground and whole-bird turkey were the biggest sales drivers for turkey in 2023. Overall, ground turkey is making up the majority of category sales. "Altogether, turkey is the distant number four seller on the fresh meat side, behind beef, chicken and pork," Roerink said. Ground chicken is not as popular as ground turkey, but there is plenty of growth potential for ground chicken offerings.

www.provisoneronline.com   |   january 2024