For years, foodservice stakeholders have urged Americans to eat more chicken. More and more, convenience store patrons appear to be listening.
By Brad Perkins, Contributing Editor
Whereas a generation ago, per person consumption of beef outpaced chicken 63 pounds to 28, Americans have been consuming, per capita, more chicken than beef every year since 1992.
The National Chicken Council (NCC), which keeps track of the U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics in this area, attributes several reasons to chicken’s growth in popularity.
“It’s a combination of taste, nutritional value, versatility and price,” said Tom Super, senior vice president of communications at the NCC. “We ask folks all the time, ‘What are the top factors when purchasing chicken?’ Those usually rise to the top.”
Health. Taste. Versatility. It seems like a recipe for success. And it has been. Super attributes the increase in popularity to the availability of many different types of chicken preparations and products, multiple dayparts, preparations and sizes of chicken entrees, snacks and sides. But also cost.
“Chicken is relatively inexpensive and is more affordable compared to some proteins,” said Super. “There are a lot of fully-prepared products available and expanding. Hot prepared foods as well, whether it’s classic old chicken sandwich or fried chicken—those are hot, filling, affordable meals.”
MEETING DEMAND
Indeed, the variety of options is what has people coming back to chicken.
“The demand is there,” Super said. “We’re increasing supply a little bit, but seeing consumer demand to be high and in terms of consumption, we’ll be at a record per capita in the U.S.—92 pounds per person [in 2018].”
As people desire healthy food that is also high quality, fast and inexpensive, they have frequently found chicken as a favorite. And trends show that will continue.
“Chicken is growing at a faster rate than the red meat category, and I think that goes back to the healthy perception,” said Ryan Krebs, director of food service at Rutter’s Farm Stores, which operates 68 c-stores in Pennsylvania. “People still love fried, but certain people in certain markets are looking for somewhat healthier alternatives. People look it as a healthier alternative to red meat.”
As it becomes available in new and different ways, pairs with other foods and appears at unexpected parts of the day—breakfast, anyone?—its popularity will continue to grow. And that’s good news for convenience store owners.
“We are seeing a lot more purchasing of chicken at breakfast,” Krebs said. “One of our big sellers is putting fried chicken on breakfast sandwiches or in burritos. We added that six or eight months ago and it’s done very well for us. We already had the chicken, so it was an easy add.”
Though breast meat remains the most popular, customers want to be able to put different parts of the chicken into many different meals and snacks. And convenience stores are listening.
“We can cross utilize. Chicken can be put in burritos, in quesadillas, in tacos, you name it,” Krebs said. “We spread that out across a lot of different categories beyond just chicken going on a sandwich. And if you get it grilled, people can get protein but not eat grease. I think the grilled category is growing and staying relevant.”
Offering chicken in different ways—breast, chicken strips, boneless, rice bowls, fried, grilled—can increase business and keep people coming back at any time of day. Rutter’s Farm Stores has three sizes for its chicken strips and allows customers to pair chicken with just about anything.
“We’ve seen a move in the wrap category. The grilled chicken on caesar salad; it’s a healthy alternative for salad and wraps,” Krebs said. “We build burritos and wraps that include both fried and grilled chicken and bacon and cheese and ranch or barbecue. We create some of those items ourselves and also, on the kiosks, we cross over the categories. You can put shredded pork on the chicken sandwich. We just charge them extra for the additional protein.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Chicken is far from the saturation point. But how will convenience stores continue to reap the benefits?
“I think more hot, prepared ready-to-eat meals, whether that’s fried chicken or chicken sandwich or chicken tenders or a sandwich you stick in microwave,” Super said. “Making more of a variety of products but keeping them all fast, convenient and affordable—those are the three dynamics over the past couple years.”
Those three dynamics are boosting the move into items with chicken that previously were reserved for pork or beef.
“Right now we have core, high-volume items, but what I’m seeing in the category is a lot of different types of innovation,” Krebs said. “We’re starting to see more chickens on the roller grill or chicken-infused offerings—chicken-apple sausage with spinach and feta or sun dried tomatoes—some really nice stuff. It’s kind of for Millennials because they’re more aggressive in the flavors, so you’re beginning to see a lot of manufacturers develop chicken items for the roller grill, which I think is a great idea.”
Chicken patties and burgers are also growing as substitutes for beef. But one area that could be growing for convenience stores is dinner. Krebs sees it as an untapped market that can compete against fast-casual restaurants, and he has begun looking into ways to expand into dinner while diversifying existing items.
“I am searching right now for bone-in chickens,” said Krebs. “The problem lies in cook times because you can’t do it from frozen and you have to be able to manage your spoilage and inventory a little more. I think bone-in chicken is a big category—it’s a dinner item, you could serve it in bulk. If it’s non-breaded, I would put it in our Turbochef oven, so it would be either baked or broiled. There are some good products out there.”
With new products and increased focus on health and quality often comes increased costs. But industry innovations have helped keep chicken at a price point that make sense for convenience stores at all dayparts, and should stay that way for many years.
“We’ve become much more efficient in terms of raising the animal, what it takes to raise a healthy chicken, in processing plant efficiency [and] feed conversion,” Super said. “We’re leaps and bounds over other proteins. We’re able to produce a pound of meat at a cheaper price.”
Chicken’s popularity and versatility is showing that being cheaper doesn’t have to sacrifice quality. After all, it’s a quality, healthy option that built chicken up in the first place.
“It’s about the quality to us,” Krebs said. “We believe we charge our customers an honest price for that quality and they’re willing to pay a price for that quality. If I change a product, it isn’t due to money—many times it may cost me more—it’s about the quality and the upgrading I give to my customer.”