5 broiler supply chain pressures impacting growth in 2026

Rising freight costs, a persistent shortage of smaller birds and the challenge of delivering value without sacrificing margin are shaping how broiler supply chain leaders plan in the coming year.

Those pressures were the focus of a  2026 Chicken Marketing Summit panel featuring Dmitry Gerasimov, senior strategic sourcing manager, Conexus Food Solutions, Shelli Laskowitz, senior manager, Poultry Innovation, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Harry Markowitz, founder, Chicken King.

Here are five takeaways on the pressures likely to weigh on broiler supply chains in the year ahead.

1. Freight costs are squeezing margins

Freight has climbed from roughly 7% of delivery costs to as much as 20%, making it the hardest expense to pass through to customers.

"The biggest pressure right now is the freight," Gerasimov said, adding that fuel surcharges and broader instability in the freight market have compounded the problem.

He added Conexus, which distributes protein, dry goods and seafood to independent Asian restaurants across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, is absorbing much of that increase while already operating on thin margins, a dynamic he expects to persist into 2026.

2. Smaller birds are getting harder to source

According to all three panelists, sourcing birds in the 2.75- to 3-pound range has become more difficult as processors continue trending toward larger birds.

"Small birds are a big problem," Markowitz explained. "It seems like the processors today are growing birds larger."

Laskowitz said Popeyes works with its purchasing group "to help us secure those contracts in advance," while Gerasimov said Conexus, which relies on jumbo birds for its core customer base, still faces shortages when smaller-bird products are needed.

Markowitz called repurposing larger birds into smaller-format products "the one thing that we really need to work on."

3. Demand for value is outpacing willingness to pay more

Delivering guest value while protecting franchisee profitability remains one of Popeyes' biggest challenges in a competitive chicken segment, stated Laskowitz.

"Making sure that we're still able to provide that value option while maintaining franchisee profitability is really important," she said, pointing to a $5 everyday value menu and a $6 big box promotion.

Gerasimov said a similar dynamic plays out in ethnic foodservice, recalling instances of customers unhappy over "just one penny" increase in price.

4. Convenience stores represent an untapped growth channel

Fewer than 5% of the roughly 152,000 convenience stores in the U.S. currently carry a fresh chicken program, leaving significant room for expansion, Markowitz said.

Chicken King's model relies on whole-muscle chicken, marinated with a proprietary blend of onion, garlic and jalapeno that is infused directly at the processing plant before being shipped to stores, where operators are trained to bread, fry and serve it fresh.

Flavor, not price alone, will separate winning brands in convenience stores, he added.

5. Customer education remains a slow, costly investment

Efforts to introduce processed and marinated chicken products to traditional restaurant customers have met resistance, as many independent operators believe in-house preparation is cheaper and better.

"How to invest in education of our customers, and who is going to pay for that" remains an open question, he said, adding that the industry will need to keep pursuing it because "education in added value is the trend, and it's not going anywhere."

Attend the 2027 Chicken Marketing Summit

The 2027 Chicken Marketing Summit will be held at the Williamsburg Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia on July 26-28, 2027.

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 early 2027.

For more information, visit: www.chickenmarketingsummit.com.