The National Chicken Council (NCC) estimated that Americans devoured 1.3 billion wings during Super Bowl weekend this past February.
That number represents a 3% spike over last year’s event. Perhaps a more interesting statistic is that 75% those wings consumed were purchased from foodservice outlets rather than supermarkets—meaning prepared chicken offerings are the popular pick among more consumers.
In 2014—for the first time in more than a century—Americans consumed more chicken than beef, according to data collection firm Priceonomics.
“Chicken remains America’s favorite protein and consumers’ affinity for it shows no signs of waning,” said Tom Super, NCC’s senior vice president of communications.
One indicator that chicken hovers near the top of the foodservice pyramid is the fact that Tyson Foods finished its fiscal year in 2015 on a record-setting pace, with total sales of $41.373 billion—up 10.1% over fiscal 2014.
In a survey commissioned last year by the NCC, 67% of consumers said they ate a chicken meal or snack purchased from a foodservice establishment over the prior two-week period. The poll was conducted online by ORC International June 22–24, 2015 among 1,019 adults.
As part of the survey, consumers were asked to consider their most recent chicken purchase and rank various factors in order of importance. Basic, functional benefits including freshness, price and taste were ranked highest as influencers in consumers’ purchase decision making.
Fourteen percent of the respondents said they anticipated eating more chicken from a foodservice establishment over the next 12 months. Comparably, 73% indicated that their purchasing patterns would remain about the same. In addition, 14% said they anticipated that their foodservice chicken purchases would increase.
The survey also found that consumers with the highest chicken consumption levels tend to lean to younger and more ethnically diverse consumers. Chicken purchases are highest in the Northeast, Midwest and South, according to the NCC.
CHICKENING OUT
Reasons for why the popularity of chicken has scaled upward the last several years vary, but one strong reason is consumers’ perception that chicken is a healthier protein than beef. In 2015, the recurring theme throughout limited service restaurants is meal combos under a specific calorie count, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Freshness, price and taste were ranked as the most important attributes consumers looked for when deciding to purchase chicken. Concerns regarding freshness and health/safety are top of mind for approximately one in four consumers making it imperative that retailers demonstrate their commitment to providing a product that meets the highest standards.
As a franchisee of Chester’s Chicken since 2002, Last Minit Mart, a convenience chain based in New Castle, Pa., batters and cooks its offerings fresh in stores daily.
One of the challenges of offering fresh chicken is the maximum two-hour hot holding time mandated by the program, said Jeff Taylor, the company’s director of stores.
To adhere to that time frame and minimize waste to keep margins profitable, the c-store developed a Plan B for using cooked chicken near the end of its hot-hold window.
“We chill it, package it and sell it out of the grab-and-go case,” Taylor said. “We’re also looking at introducing a pot pie program so we can use our leftover, but still fresh chicken in another way. We expect to launch that program by the beginning of the second quarter.”
Although Last Minit Mart has tried different flavors such as buffalo and chipotle on its chicken to provide customers variety, it’s traditional-recipe fried chicken that sells best, either in the form of chicken tender strips or pieces a la carte.
Stay tuned to Convenience Store Decisions‘ March issue, where we delve into 38 in-store categories to identify emerging trends and garner retailer analysis to forecast what operators can expect for 2016 and beyond.