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What MAHA, GLP-1s and high-protein diets mean for chicken
61 Plays5 days ago
Hinda Mitchell, the president and founder of communications and marketing firm, Inspire, and Elizabeth Doughman, editor, WATT PoultryUSA and Poultry Future, discuss how new dietary trends provide chicken marketers with new opportunities to connect with consumers.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Future of Poultry Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Future of Poultry podcast series.
Insights into the 2026 Chicken Marketing Summit
00:00:12
Speaker
Hello, I'm Elizabeth Duffman, the editor of Wild Poultry USA and Poultry Future. This Future of Poultry podcast is brought to you by the 2026 Chicken Marketing Summit, scheduled for July twenty seven through 29th at the Innisfrog Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.
00:00:30
Speaker
This one-of-a-kind event will feature the theme, The Protein Moment. Attendees will discover how protein-first eating, clean label preferences, and GLP-1 drugs are transforming consumer demand and how the chicken industry can win.
00:00:44
Speaker
Registration is now open at chickenmarketingsummit.com. In today's episode, my guest is Hinda Mitchell, the president and founder of Communications and Marketing for Inspire, and one of the featured speakers at the 2026 Chicken Marketing Summit.
00:01:00
Speaker
Thanks for joining me today, Henda. Oh, I'm glad to be here. Thanks for having me. And I can't wait to see you in Florida this summer.
Trends in High-Protein Diets
00:01:07
Speaker
So what's driving demand for high protein diets right now?
00:01:11
Speaker
Well, you know, it's it's a combination of factors, really. There are different segments, different audiences that are thinking about protein, right? It's it's folks who are aging, who are are thinking about bone health and muscle health. So there's this sort of senior population that's starting to develop an interest in high-protein diets. You're certainly seeing athletes and those who with commitments to fitness thinking about protein in the context of endurance, in the context of energy. And then you have the sort of group of people who are who are really focused on weight loss. And certainly GLP-1s, you mentioned already, have been a a big piece of that as folks are thinking about They're eating smaller meals, but they're thinking really about driving more protein into their diets. I mean, it's an interesting trend, right? Because it feels a little bit almost like the Atkins diet of 20, 30 years ago.
00:02:06
Speaker
Absolutely.
Impact of 'Make America Healthy Again' Movement
00:02:07
Speaker
So what role does the Make America Healthy Again, or also known as MAHA, play into this? I think that is a a big factor that's only going to grow. Of course, you know chicken plays a big role in the new dietary guidelines that were released. But more importantly, we're seeing so much emphasis through Maha on the eat real food movement. And as you think about eating real food and you think about the spaces where protein is starting to elevate, animal products like chicken are a great solution if that is your commitment to clean eating, to real food eating, because you don't have to have a lot of processed product. You don't have to have a lot of additives to lean in heavily to protein as ah as a food resource.
00:02:57
Speaker
Chicken is the default protein for so many
Chicken as a Preferred Protein Source
00:03:00
Speaker
consumers. So how can the industry leverage it for this new focus? And what are the attributes of chicken that can best leverage this trend?
00:03:08
Speaker
Absolutely. i think you know chicken outperforms for a number of reasons. One is it is so versatile. There are so many use cases for chicken when you think about how to prepare them, and we're seeing a lot of innovation in that space, which I know we'll talk about as well. Chicken is still a very affordable protein, but more importantly, it's a really approachable protein. you know Whether you're cooking for, again, your senior citizen grandmother or your two-year-old, chicken is something that fits a lot of diets. It fits a lot of lifestyles. People know what to do with it. you know When you talk with some people about cooking, they feel overwhelmed. They feel, oh, I don't know what to do with this product, right? you know and Somebody hands you a rutabaga and you're like, I don't know what to do with a rutabaga. Right. But when somebody gives you chicken breasts, chicken thighs, it's like, oh, okay, I know what to do with that. I can make that happen.
00:04:04
Speaker
There aren't a lot of barriers. There aren't dietary barriers. There aren't cultural barriers. And just that ability, you know, sort of for endless use opportunities, I think is what is going to make chickens stand out in this protein movement.
Innovation in Chicken Products
00:04:17
Speaker
So where are you seeing the most innovation in high-protein chicken products right now? Is it retail, food service, ingredients, or somewhere else? My opinion is that food service has been leading the way right now. And part of that is because chicken has been on the menu at food service for so long already that that they just had an opportunity to pivot very quickly into this. I think about brands like Subway, Chipotle, McDonald's. i mean, Chipotle has really leaned into this, right? You can literally just go to Chipotle and get a cup of chicken, a four ounce bowl that is only chicken. And, you know, they have branded a high protein menu. McDonald's bringing back their snack wraps that are low in carbs, but high in in chicken.
00:05:04
Speaker
You know, Subway as well. They're doing their own set of of protein menu items. And so I think food service was well positioned with limited menu changes, with limited operational changes to to embrace this trend and to lean into the chicken they already had on the menu and use it in different ways.
00:05:26
Speaker
but But by the way, retail's coming in right behind it. We're seeing a lot of innovation at retail, especially in the snacking category, which I think is going to be such an opportunity for chicken going forward. I can't recall the brand right now, but I was just reading the other day about a chicken stick that is flavored with bacon and maple, and they're marketing it as a breakfast item. It's an easy, on-the-go, grab-and-go breakfast item. So chicken in a different day part, perhaps, than than folks have seen it before. So retail is coming right along, especially with snacking. And I think it's important to note...
Balancing Protein Messaging with Ethical Concerns
00:06:03
Speaker
that chicken has been in this space for a while. you know, all you have to do is think about a very basic food, the chicken tender, right? The chicken tender, the breast bites, all of those things have been in our world for some time now. And and anybody who is reaching for a quick high protein meal or snack was already reaching for chicken, especially at retail. And so the opportunity is just really booming with the new innovations that are happening with snack and convenience. But chicken, again, has always been such an approachable item. I think this is chicken's time to shine.
00:06:39
Speaker
So how should chicken brands balance this protein messaging with other important attributes for consumers like sustainability, animal welfare, taste, and, and you know, all of that other stuff?
00:06:53
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. I think that it's important to remember that chicken is is largely, again, a clean, real food. And so we we have the opportunity to just keep running with that. But we can't abandon our messaging on also being good for the planet and being caring for our animals. I mean, all of those things still matter because especially in the Maha world, traditionally, Trust is just as important as quality is just as important as how many grams of protein it has in it. And so we're going to have to keep engaging that consumer, especially that consumer who's looking a little more closely. Again, as I'm thinking about how to select high protein products that are good for my family, good for the environment and good for animal welfare, keeping that high level of trust is going to matter more and more.
00:07:45
Speaker
So what are the risks and watchouts for chicken marketers when it comes to the high protein
Risks of Protein Washing and Product Integrity
00:07:50
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trend? One of the things that we're we're starting to see just emerging right now, and I referenced this earlier, is this issue of protein washing, right? Like green washing or white washing. We've seen these kinds of trends happening for years. And for the protein sector overall, folks are going to have to think about how many other ingredients are in there in order to create this high protein product. Chicken doesn't have that problem. But as we think about developing, you know, i mentioned, you know,
00:08:21
Speaker
snacking and things like that. You know, there are now chicken chips, there are chicken sticks, there are freeze dried products. And as all of those products come to market, our consumer is still going to be looking for products that they deem to be clean and that they deem to not be ultra processed. So even as we are innovating and as we are building out new ways to be deliberate in offering more and more products that that speak to this high protein market, we have to be equally as mindful of making sure we are are focused also on not sort of going into so much processing that we lose one to gain another.
Hinda's Favorite Chicken Dishes and Closing Remarks
00:09:02
Speaker
We've talked about all of the different uses for chicken through this podcast. So I have to ask, what's your favorite way to eat chicken? So I'm a pretty simple chicken eater. I like to marinate in a really nice herb and garlic marinade, maybe with a little heat added to it. And then I like to put it on the grill. I think ah a simple grilled chicken breast is one of the best things in the world.
00:09:26
Speaker
um I also love cooking Indian food and chicken and Indian food, whether it's butter, chicken or masala. Love it, love it, love it. We go through a lot of chicken in our house every day. And we do that in a lot of ways just for the same reasons I offered. It's great for your family. It's approachable. It's easy. and And it'll make a lot of different people with taste buds happy. Those both sound delicious, Hinda. Thank you again for joining the podcast and thanks to you for tuning in To hear more of Hinda's insights and learn more about the consumer behavior and trends impacting today's chicken consumption, register to attend the 2026 Chicken Marketing Summit at chickenmarketingsummit.com.
00:10:08
Speaker
For more episodes of the Future of Poultry podcast, please like and subscribe on wattpoultry.com or wherever you access podcasts.