Turkey’s share of ground meat market increases

Turkey continues to increase in popularity as a choice for ground meats, with expectations that its popularity will continue to grow.

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Courtesy Hormel Foods
Courtesy Hormel Foods

Turkey continues to increase in popularity as a choice for ground meats, with expectations that its popularity will continue to grow.

James Snee, president and chief operating officer of Hormel Foods, discussed the turkey trend on September 7 at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference. Hormel Foods is the parent company of Jennie-O Turkey Store.

Turkey’s share of ground meat category

Snee said one metric the company closely tracks is how much turkey makes up of the total ground meats category, and Hormel Foods has learned that it has steadily increased since 2010.

In 2016, it has just surpassed a 12 percent share in the U.S., he said.

Jennie-O Turkey Store a category leader

Jennie-O Turkey Store has established itself as a leader in ground turkey, as Snee said it currently holds a 40 percent share of that category.

With the company investing heavily in its “Make the Switch” advertising campaign, Snee expects both turkey’s share and Jennie-O’s share to increase in the ground meats category.

“We know that will help us put more turkey on more plates,” said Snee. “We’re confident that this investment is well-placed, and will continue to translate into top-line growth for years to come.”

Hormel Foods announced one day before the conference that Snee has been chosen to serve as Hormel’s next CEO, replacing Jeffrey Ettinger, who will retire from the post on October 30. 

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