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How chicken can win in the relentless pursuit of protein
321 Plays3 days ago
Nick Fereday, executive director, Rabobank and Christine McCracken, protein analyst, also at Rabobank, share their thoughts on how chicken can benefit from the adoption of GLP-1 weight loss drugs, the Make America Healthy Again movement and other changes to consumer perceptions of health and nutrition.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to the Future of Poultry podcast series.
00:00:12
Speaker
Hello, I'm Elizabeth Duffman, the editor of Watt Poultry USA and Poultry Future. In today's episode, my guest is Nick Faraday, Executive Director RattleBank, and Christine McCracken, Protein Analyst, also at RattleBank.
2025 Chicken Marketing Summit Details
00:00:27
Speaker
Nick is one of our featured speakers at the 2025 Chicken Marketing Summit, scheduled for July twenty eight through 30th at the DeSoto Savannah in Savannah, Georgia. This one-of-a-time event explores issues and trends in food marketing and consumer chicken consumption patterns and producing behavior.
00:00:44
Speaker
Registration is now open at chickenmarketingsummit.com. with an early bird discount expiring on May 31st, and I'd like to encourage everyone to attend.
Consumer Perceptions and Market Shifts
00:00:54
Speaker
Thanks for joining us today, Nick and Christine. How have consumer perceptions around healthy eating changed within the past five years?
00:01:03
Speaker
That's an incredible question in the sense that so much has happened over the last five years. You could have said the last five hours, given what's going on in Washington these days, or even five weeks, but...
00:01:14
Speaker
I'm actually reminded of what happened four five years ago when the plant-based movement really took off because we're now in a situation where only yesterday some of the famous names are being valued and a fraction of the amount of money that they raise. so There was a fungi mycelium company called Meaty with a meat replacement that had raised over $450 million dollars and sadly was sold for a princely sum of four or five million yesterday. And that kind of shows you we can get very excited about that. That's a good healthy trend and see it disappear and over the course of a few years. the hell of a lot's happened since then. We've obviously had COVID and people eating more at home, cooking from more from home. We've had an inflationary period.
00:01:58
Speaker
And now we still seem to be in the midst of a protein mania where anything to do with protein seems to go down well with consumers. In the last five hours, it's all about Mahal and make America healthy again.
00:02:10
Speaker
Yeah, and and Nick, I think a big part of making America healthy again is about protein. And that trend specifically has been ah really big piece of the consumer focus over the last, specifically 12 to 18 months. I think you probably agree.
00:02:26
Speaker
We've seen a real shift. The question is how they're able to hit those protein goals. And I think there's a lot of of solutions being offered, I think. And I think, Elizabeth, you might agree that chicken is a big part of that story, specifically when we're talking about not only the focus on health, but really meeting the protein goals that are quickly becoming a part of the narrative.
00:02:51
Speaker
Well, so that brings me to my next question, which is what health fund is having the biggest impact on chicken consumption?
Protein Trends and Chicken Consumption
00:02:57
Speaker
I would say is that it is this protein story. We're used to consumers really kind of cycling through the three macronutrients, you know, falling in and out favor of carbohydrates and fat.
00:03:08
Speaker
And we seem to be stuck on protein right now. It's almost like a perennial trend. And everyone is now saying, I've just come back from a trade show a couple months ago, and every other booth was kind of touting the protein content, saying that maybe we're at peak protein.
00:03:26
Speaker
I think what's super interesting is how protein is popping up in every aisle now. And that's kind of an opportunity and also a risk for for the chicken industry because it's way beyond the meat and freezer aisles where you would normally associate chicken products, but it's turning up in pasta sauce, it's turning up in candy.
00:03:44
Speaker
So it's kind of added protein. So whether that's a plant-based or a dairy-based protein powder, It's an absolutely fantastically large market now, but to what extent can chicken kind of capture some of this in any particular shape or form?
00:03:58
Speaker
If you look think through the trend in the last few years, it's been all about clean label. yeah And how you get that protein, I think, will be an interesting trend to watch. Only in that a lot of focus has been put on a lot of these highly processed foods and adding protein to any specific product, candy included, might be a target, right? If you think about where we're headed in terms of further processing. So I do think there's a great story.
00:04:28
Speaker
for chicken and other proteins really to talk about what they bring to the table, right? When you think about the single source protein. No, absolutely. I mean, as we often see in consumer trends, there's a lot of contradictions, you know, like we say, to what extent are people coming to terms with this concept of highly processed, ultra-processed foods and trying to limit their consumption, but at the same time making exceptions for their protein powder or their protein supplement.
00:04:55
Speaker
But I think it's, Elizabeth, important to know
Health Trends Impacting Protein Demand
00:04:57
Speaker
that A lot of people are saying that we've probably passed peak protein and it can't get any bigger, but I think there are a couple of drivers that will kind of continue the trend towards more protein.
00:05:07
Speaker
And the one that's front of mind for me is the real visiting market for anti-investing medications, such as GLP-1 drugs, Xampec and Wagabee. and the like, because people on those drugs are trying to lose weight and successfully managed to.
00:05:23
Speaker
But they're also, in addition to losing body weight, losing a proportion of lean muscle mass as well. And they signed up to lose their body fat, but didn't sign up to lose their muscle. set Users of these drugs, and it could be as high as 10% of US adults now, are looking for more protein in their diets to compensate or offset the negative impact on the lean muscle mass on these drugs.
Positioning Chicken Brands in Health Market
00:05:47
Speaker
How can chicken brands position themselves as part of a healthy lifestyle without resorting to token health claims? A lot of the effort in the protein industry and specifically in chicken is to quantify all of the benefits that consuming an animal protein impart on the consumer. When you think about, you know, we've always considered protein and specifically chicken to be a great source of protein. I think that the real struggle is now when consumers are demanding a little bit more visibility or transparency around what that means.
00:06:21
Speaker
and how it might benefit them, then the industry has to step up and really think about how they communicate those benefits. So, you know, providing the scientific background or the data behind what we already know to be a really healthy protein alternative, I think that's part of the this story.
00:06:37
Speaker
And I think that, again, I think looking back at our conversation earlier, which is to say that it's a single source protein and it's not highly processed in most cases, and consumers already have really good options to supplement their diets with good proteins.
00:06:52
Speaker
All of that becomes part of the strategy, I think. So quantification of those health benefits and then communicating that clearly. that But the complication, I think, Nick, you've done some work around labeling health claims. It gets a little confusing. So I do think there's going to have to be a clear message on how we communicate some of these benefits, whether it's directly on PAC or if it's more support around the product to get consumers really understanding the true health benefits and consuming those products.
00:07:22
Speaker
I think that's maybe where we could spend some time as an industry to help consumers. I said earlier that protein possibly hasn't peaked. i hope that dumb protein has peaked in the sense that a lot of companies just want to shout the protein content in their product. I don't think that's very helpful.
00:07:40
Speaker
The first thing is to understand the industry, where people are consuming protein and what's driving that. Is it to fill them up? Is it the impact of health and wellness trends? Is it the weight loss drugs and so on?
00:07:51
Speaker
And that will certainly help you target but also add some kind of level of sophistication to the marketing so you're not just screaming out that chicken contains extra many grams of protein, but maybe talk about the quality of protein and the source of that protein. Because as you know, proteins are made up of different combinations of amino acids and some are more incomplete and complete. than others. And also our protein requirement is really a moving target. It depends on your age and on your level of activity, whether you're male or female. And so your needs change as well. When you start to dig into who who's consuming chicken and when are they consuming it that may give you some ideas that you may want to pitch it differently as well.
00:08:33
Speaker
The Maha movement of Kennedy is all about radical transparency. Kennedy is under the belief that if you provide consumers with the relevant information, they will make better choices in their food. And so I think, to Christine's point, the more you can tell your story and explain the quality of the chicken, the completeness of the protein, etc., that will go down very well with
Personal Insights and Podcast Conclusion
00:08:55
Speaker
consumers.
00:08:55
Speaker
So what is your favorite chicken dish to eat? I'm a traditionalist in the sense that it's the roast chicken for me. And that's part of the whole story that you often see in food where nostalgia and memories play a role in one's choices. So the things that you remember eating as a child and those happy memories around Sunday meals and things are all tied into roast chicken for me.
00:09:17
Speaker
That's a great story. Yeah, for me, it really depends on where I am that week. So i eat a lot of chicken. And what I love about chicken is that there's so many ways to prepare. You're talking about a lot of variety, which I think is why chicken has done so well. And not just at home, but in retail.
00:09:33
Speaker
I always turn to chicken and dumplings during the winter and chicken pocata in the summer. It's flexible that way because it's hearty in the winter when I need it, especially in the North.
00:09:44
Speaker
Yeah. But they can be light, right? eat A little lemon and and some capers and you're good to go. Thanks again, Nick and Christine. And thanks to you for tuning in. To learn more about the consumer and behavior and trends impacting today's chicken consumption, register to attend the Chicken Marketing Summit at chickenmarketingsummit.com.
00:10:03
Speaker
For more episodes of the Future of Poultry podcast, please like and subscribe on blackpoultry.com or wherever you access podcasts.