Evolving preferences and economic pressures are transforming strategic priorities for both retail and foodservice.
Keeping up with changes in consumer behavior is essential for the chicken supply chain to maintain a competitive advantage.
At the 2025 Chicken Marketing Summit, four panelists from major foodservice and retail outlets that sell chicken discussed the consumer trends with the greatest opportunities for today’s chicken supply chain.
The panelists were:
- Becky Faudree, vice president of procurement, ButcherBox,
- Travis Gracey, meat and seafood category manager, HAC, Inc.
- Shawn Lalehzarian, co-founder and CEO, The Red Chickz
- Paul Sinowitz, chief supply chain officer, Qdoba
1. Dark meat demand surges as economic pressures mount
Sinowitz reported significant growth in dark meat demand from consumers, resulting in challenges sourcing boneless skinless thighs from seven-and-a-quarter to eight-pound birds.
"The biggest challenge is supply. We're heavy dark meat. You guys have trained the consumer to move to dark meat," he said, noting that the company's dark meat requirements have intensified competition among suppliers.
The shift to dark meat reflects broader economic pressures affecting consumer behavior across multiple segments. Gracey said he’s observed customers trading down from beef to chicken and purchasing smaller basket sizes in the past year.
"They're not filling their basket up as much," Gracey noted.
2. Social media drives innovation, customer engagement
Lalehzarian emphasized the transformative power of social media marketing for chicken brands, particularly TikTok
"We basically see the result, if not the same day, the very next day in our operation," Lalehzarian explained, crediting the platform with helping build 1.2 million followers and 38 million likes despite only having five physical locations of restaurants.
The Red Chickz social media strategy includes outrageous promotional items like 30-tender sandwiches and 15-foot loaded wedges, demonstrating how unconventional approaches can generate viral marketing success in the competitive restaurant space.
3. Transparency, clean labels drive product development
Consumer demand for transparency continues reshaping product offerings across all segments. They increasingly seek detailed information about animal welfare and ingredient sourcing, Faudree reported.
"The questions get more and more intense from customers," she said, noting that Butcherbox maintains third-party certifications for both animal welfare and sustainable seafood.
The plant-based trend, however, has largely failed to gain traction among panelists' customer bases. Sinowitz reported that Qdoba's plant-based ground beef option never exceeded 1% of sales mix before being discontinued, while the other panelists reported similar experiences with vegetarian alternatives.
Attend the 2026 Chicken Marketing Summit
The 2026 Chicken Marketing Summit will be held at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida, on July 27-29, 2026. Serving a unique cross-section of the chicken supply chain, the Chicken Marketing Summit explores issues and trends in food marketing and consumer chicken consumption patterns and purchasing behavior.
Registration will open in Spring 2026.
