Trust in Poultry
Fast food is an important part of the economy, especially in these times where food has become unaffordable for parts of the population. Last week, we talked about how McDonalds saw great gains with its value menu and a rise in demand. There’s one menu item of the fast-food industry that’s been the kingpin of the inflation era, and to be honest it’s held this position for a couple of years now.
The chicken sandwich has stayed the king of fast-food throughout the last few months, and this is coming from many companies. Chains across the country have started to add varieties of chicken sandwiches to offer to customers, or they’ve hopped on the trend now. According to data from iSpot.tv, companies have spent tens of millions of dollars each advertising chicken sandwiches and other poultry items, which explains a lot. One that you might constantly hear nowadays is Panera Bread, who just entered the chicken sandwich scene with their “Chef’s Chicken Sandwich.” According to their executives, this has become the company’s top-selling sandwich despite the market being oversaturated, showing that competition still exists. US consumers spent $2.4 billion on chicken sandwiches during the June quarter, and that demand hasn’t stopped. This has caused chains like Popeyes to slightly raise their prices, but prices are still low as chicken sandwiches across America are priced between $1 and $7. This is not only helping the restaurants, but chicken suppliers are killing it. Pilgrim’s Pride, one of the nation’s leading suppliers of chicken, said that the high demand for chicken is the reason for the company posting profit of $643 million so far this year, a vast improvement from last year. This is because the price per pound of boneless chicken breast has tripled since the beginning of 2021, and fast-food companies haven’t reacted negatively to that which is allowing for more revenue and gain from this rise. Chicken sandwiches may taste good, but the taste of money is better for Pilgrim’s Pride as the stock has risen by 40 percent since March, showing the possible gains in the business from top-down.
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
