Poultry consumers want convenience, claims

American consumers are looking for more convenient foods that align with their social values, which means poultry producers and retailers can benefit from these trends.

(New Africa | Bigstock)
(New Africa | Bigstock)

American consumers are looking for more convenient foods that align with their social values. Poultry producers and retailers can benefit from these trends.

Consumers desire breast meat, value added products

As shoppers demand convenient solutions, fresh chicken breast and ground poultry products are on the rise.

According to IRI data, fresh chicken breast is among the top eight fastest growing products in terms of both dollar and unit sales since 2013. In a 52-week period ending March 24, 2019, a total of 236 million pounds of chicken breast were sold. That’s a $1.3 billion increase in sales over the previous period.

Among eight cuts of meat that generated more than $100 million in sales over a 52-week period in 2018, five were poultry products and two were ground products: chicken stir fry/kabob/fajita cuts, ground chicken, chicken thighs, chicken wings and ground turkey.

fresh-meat-growth-sources

Consumers are increasingly aware of how their choices impact the environment. While initially driven by health and wellness, a focus on environmental sustainability is now accelerating the shift from ground beef to ground poultry. 

In the last five years, ground beef has experienced a 1.5% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in volume. Poultry, by comparison, experienced a 4.0% CAGR during the same period. However, ground beef is still king, with 85% share of ground meat sales volume, down about 1 share point since 2014.

4 keys for growth

Successful poultry producers are addressing four key trends to take advantage of shoppers’ attitudes: convenience, claims, cross-store protein growth and education and engagement.

1. Convenience: Younger shoppers (18-24) spend, on average, less than 21 minutes on dinner preparation. Older and middle-aged shoppers (25-64) use just 38 minutes. Both groups are looking for value-added solutions such as marinated ground chicken. Value-added chicken products grew 8.8% among proteins last year, according to IRI data, making them the fastest growing product category.

2. Claims: Those surveyed in IRI’s 2019 Fresh Foods Survey said health and wellness is an important reason to buy to buy fresh food and 52% of respondents said it was the most important reason for them. More than half of shoppers want all natural meats free from antibiotics and hormones.

Turkey and chicken count as the two fastest growing antibiotic-free protein products. In 2018, they registered sales increases of 37% and 25%, respectively. Shoppers also want to see better-for-the-animal claims, sustainability claims and claims about social consciousness.

shoppers-want-wellness-claims

3. Cross-store protein growth: Poultry acts as a growth engine across the store. According to IRI research published in 2018, poultry is part of four of the top 10 grocery growth categories based on dollar sales: frozen meat, refrigerated meals, frozen meals and prepared meals.

4. Education and engagement: Knowledge about poultry is surprisingly lacking. Just 47% of consumers consider themselves knowledgeable, while 35% claim to “know the basics” and 18% say they need help. Among younger shoppers, 72% of millennials said they “just manage” or “need help” when it comes to poultry.

Strategies for the future

Poultry producers and retailers need to engage with different shoppers in different ways. Some of these ways are intuitive, others are not. For example, it would seem younger shoppers would find the bulk of their information from social media ads and email or text promotions. In fact, the top two resources for this group are in-store promotional signage and pre-trip paper circulars.

Poultry producers enjoy many advantages over other protein manufacturers. It is generally healthier than other meats, it is versatile in the kitchen and boasts a relatively small carbon footprint. That said, those trays of ground chicken won’t sell themselves. Producers must understand and meet consumers’ changing needs.

Four strategies will help producers forge a path ahead: personalization, collaboration, facilitation and education.

Make It Personal: Shoppers want a personalized experience when they go to a producer or retailer’s website. According to the survey, 33 percent of consumers said they are more likely to buy from a brand that sends tailored messaging.

Make It Collaborative: Work with retailers to understand specific shopper attitudes about poultry down to the store cluster or even the individual store.

Make It Easy: Shoppers want effortless programs where, for example, offers are automatically redeemed and they don’t have to bring in paper coupons or find electronic coupons on their phones.

Make It Educational: Turn shoppers’ lack of knowledge into an opportunity to educate them and build loyalty. This can be as simple as including a recipe on the side of the package or creating an app and continuously updating it with new recipe ideas.

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