With further processing advancements and genetic improvements, the industry is satisfying the customer demand for convenient poultry products.
The U.S. poultry industry is continuously seeking to optimize efficiency while considering consumer preferences for convenience and speed in meal preparation. Advancements in further processing and genetic improvements have helped producers satisfy consumer demand by turning whole birds into products that reduce preparation and cooking difficulty for consumers.
The trend toward bigger further processing investments represents the industry's response to consumer demand for convenient, value-added products that meet nutritional and price point expectations, said CoBank animal protein economist Brian Earnest at the 2025 Chicken Marketing Summit.
Data shows a sustained consumer interest in bringing the restaurant experience home through convenient chicken products, Earnest said, with Google Trends showing a strong search activity for chicken-related recipes and products.
Examples of further processed poultry products include birds cut into parts for specific sizes and weights; battered and/or breaded poultry products; and pre-marinated or deboned meat, sausages, nuggets, strips and more.
The balance of genetic improvements
Significant evolutions in the breeding sector concerning production efficiency and meat yield have helped producers meet the increasing demand for poultry products.
Breeding focus has changed over time, he continued. In the 1960s, genetics companies were focused on chick and egg production per laying hen. Then, the focus moved toward improving feed conversion ratios (FCR) in the 1980s and increasing bird size and breast yield in the 1990s.
Just in the past five years, the average broiler live weight at slaughter in the U.S. increased more than 2% to 6.64 pounds in May, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) July 2025 Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook.
While these genetic improvements have helped bring more chicken to the table in new formats, he continued, the industry has lost some focus on chick production per laying hen. Even though hatchability has always been important, there was a tradeoff that favored yield, FCR and broiler growth as value-added products gained popularity, he added.
According to data from LEAP Market Analytics Executive Director Mark Jordan, the average number of chicks hatched per breeder hen reached an all-time high in 2012, at 176.2. By 2015, that number fell to 168.1, but was followed by a small rebound in 2017. By 2020, hatchability had decreased again to 161.8 and continued on a downward trajectory throughout 2023.
“You can’t outrun yield, until you don’t have chickens to put on shackles,” Earnest said.
Change required to meet demand, overcome problems
Throughout the past two decades, the poultry industry has undergone significant changes as consumer demands have evolved.
In 2005, cut-up parts and pieces made up the largest production category, but the further processing segment has steadily expanded while whole bird production has contracted.
"This is probably a lot of the rotisserie bird segment," Earnest added, commenting on the remaining whole bird production, which still targets convenience-oriented consumers compared with traditional whole bird preparation.
Additionally, the poultry industry has been challenged with increasing costs and reduced labor availability. This has led to investments in innovation, research and technology that are focused on adding new production lines and upgrading existing facilities rather than building entirely new processing plants.
This technological push helps producers combat labor issues, and also has helped them meet consumer portion size preferences, as average bird weights have increased steadily over the past decade. One example of this is the adoption of direct stream injection (DSI) cutting technology, which portions larger breast meat into uniform pieces based on customer specifications.
Outlook on processed poultry products
Consumer demand for poultry products is strong and predicted to keep growing. According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the consumption of poultry products in the U.S. is expected to grow 12.7% by 2034, compared with the 2022-24 average.
While consumer interest in value-added and further processed products remains elevated, Earnest said interest in products such as bone-in chicken wings is starting to decline slightly. Consumer interest in poultry products seems to be focused primarily on sandwiches, wraps, strips and other similar items incorporating boneless white meat.
In May, Jordan reported that the bone-in wing market was weakening and trading at a discount to breast meat. At the time, Jordan said bone-in wings were on track to average less than 50% of the breast meat market during the second quarter of 2025, a low that has not been seen over a full quarter since 2003.
Additionally, even though bird size has increased to meet consumer demands, it does not change the number of bone-in wings coming off the bird. To combat this, the industry is looking at boneless wings to adopt the flavor profile that consumers are looking for on the traditional bone-in wing, Earnest added.
The outlook of the poultry industry is a balance of “more of the same” while embracing innovation in the further processing sector, Earnest said.
“We're giving the consumer what they're asking for, and we're doing it in the best way that we can,” he said.
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