Why Chicken Nugget Demand Is Flat

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If you’ve lived in the United States for the last 40 years, chances are high you’ve had a chicken nugget. They’ve long been a staple for families — Americans ate 2.3 billion servings of them in restaurants last year, according to The NPD Group.

But Americans’ favorite processed meat could be losing favor with consumers — data shows that chicken nuggets are appearing on menus less often, and demand in restaurants declined from 2017 to 2018, according to NPD. Nuggets are even seen less often on the kids’ menu, where they’ve long been a mainstay for busy parents, according to Datassential.

Consumer preferences might be changing for three reasons: health concerns, media attention and new competition.

Chicken nuggets aren’t seen as the most wholesome protein option. When CNBC did an informal poll in New York’s Times Square, no one knew exactly what is in a chicken nugget. The products have also been at the center of bad press, including a debunked “pink slime” photo allegedly showing what nuggets are made of, and recent recalls.

Nuggets are also considered a classic, which means that they’re not likely to benefit from any product innovation.

Customers also may be buying more chicken strips. They’re seen as a more wholesome, grown-up version of chicken nuggets and are available more widely on menus. Restaurants have realized that customers are willing to pay a bit more for them, which means they have a higher profit margin.

“I don’t really see how they’re going to make a comeback in the future because it’s not a product that most restaurants, especially in fast food, drive their innovation around,” said Dean Small, CEO of Synergy Restaurant Consultants. “Chicken nuggets are an incremental purchase, it’s like an add-on.”

Chicken nuggets have become an American staple, especially among kids. However, due to recent controversy around the bite-sized snack, demand for nuggets in restaurants and grocery stores is flatlining.

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Why Chicken Nugget Demand Is Flat

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38 COMMENTS

  2. I bet chicken nugget had to pay a lot for their product to be the official definition of nugget because the definition of nugget specifically in America, though. Country that actually uses and got popular for this term. Nugget, it just means a smaller piece of something bigger. That's usually irregularly shaped. You know, due to it being chipped off of the original. So that's what I remember nugget being defined as.
    So now, apparently the chicken industry has paid a lot of money so that their product becomes the definition of the word nugget instead of that's just a problem that's using the word nugget.

  4. Total bs, I’ve seen first hand how Tyson makes nuggets.

    It’s all mechanically processed, hardly any unnatural ingredients. The worst part of the nugget is the carbs in the breading.

    Organic is total bs.

  11. Chicken nuggets are good, love the taste and the texture, and eat whatever part of the chicken was being wasted, this would be nice if there wasn't normal food waste

  13. I (Charlene A Terrell) didn't say anything, because at the time I didn't want to hurt Jae's feelings. However, since the first time tried his sexual energy is not desirable. It wasn't good. I love Emmanuel's chicken nuggets and I look forward to it. #KingEmmanuel 💋

  27. I like chicken nuggets because they have no bones in them and most other chicken has bones. I can’t eat chicken with bones and blood and stuff. I also have autism and have problems with different textures and stuff in food but chicken nuggets are always the same so they’re less stressful.

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