Pilgrim’s CEO notices increase in chicken deli sales

Chicken meat sales in the deli category are growing, which Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Fabio Sandri finds encouraging.

Roy Graber Headshot
Handmade Pictures, Bigstock
Handmade Pictures, Bigstock

Chicken meat sales in the deli category are growing, which Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Fabio Sandri finds encouraging.

Sandri discussed that and other retail trends during a conference call with analysts on February 27, as Pilgrim’s Pride released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023.

“The deli emerged as the fastest growing location for chicken as it simultaneously grew in price and units,” Sandri said. “Equally important, it increasingly became a destination for shoppers as the number of deli chicken trips increased 2.5%, a considerable increase relative to the same period last year, reflecting a broader consumer trend to seeking affordability and convenience.”

Other chicken retail trends

During the talk, Sandri also pointed out the following trends:

  • Steadily increasing promotional activity provided volume support and enabled sales volume in the fresh department to remain steady when compared to one year ago.
  • Frozen chicken dollar sales grew on mild volume declines.
  • Sales of frozen value-added chicken products trended upward for the company, with increases in both increased volumes and higher prices.
  • Increased demand was seen at the foodservice level, as during the first quarter foodservice demands led to a 7% increase as both foodservice restaurants and quick service restaurants experienced year-over-year growth. Sandri added that there has also been an increase in promotional activity for chicken items.
  • Pilgrim’s net sales for the quarter were were $4.16 billion, a decrease of about 1.8% when compared to the first quarter of fiscal year 2022.

Pilgrim’s Pride is the second largest broiler producer in the United States. According to the WATTPoultry.com Top Poultry Companies Database, it processed 161.3 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis during the past year. In addition to its U.S. business, Pilgrim’s also has operations in Mexico and in Europe.

Page 1 of 1576
Next Page