Chicken snacks poised to fill beef’s supply gap

Beef is currently the king of protein-fueled snacking, but supply chain struggles and rising costs provide chicken with an opportunity to take over the top spot.

According to Protein's Promise for Meat Snack Growth released by CoBank earlier this month, sales of meat snacks have grown more than 45% over the past four years to $4.4 billion, driven by consumers who want portable, high-protein, minimally processed food. Demand is accelerating. But the beef supply chain is hitting a structural wall, and the chicken industry stands to benefit.

Beef's structural squeeze

The U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest level since the 1950s, CoBank reported. Drought and high feed costs have triggered herd liquidation, and lean beef supplies for further processing have tightened sharply as a result. In addition, producing one pound of finished jerky requires roughly 2.5 to 3.5 pounds of raw beef — meaning every dollar of raw material inflation hits finished product costs hard.

The recent detection of the New World screwworm in the U.S. could signal that the cattle industry’s struggle is far from over.

Chicken's moment

That's where chicken comes in. Chicken sticks and other poultry-based snacks are already entering the market, and the consumer appetite is there.  

“This would be another way for consumers to be able to eat chicken,” the authors of the report wrote, adding that chicken sticks “would expand the chicken market to be more of an on-the-go product rather than a meal or snack at home.”

For example, GLP-1 drug users — now roughly 12% of the U.S. population and growing as pill forms become available — are actively seeking high-protein, smaller-portion foods to preserve muscle mass while losing weight. Meat snacks are a major opportunity for these users.