Thanksgiving in pandemic boosts turkey sales

The pandemic is forcing millions of Americans to cut back on Thanksgiving plans amid travel restrictions and notices on large gatherings.

As a result, large grocery chains and turkey farmers are faced with what could be a demand for more birds.

According to data from Kroger, the nation’s largest grocery chain, 43% of shoppers plan to celebrate Thanksgiving at home with those in their immediate household.

“We know many families are thinking about vacations differently this year, and we are curating our selection of new offerings to meet those needs,” a Kroger spokesperson told FOX Business.

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Kroger predicts an increase in demand for other proteins like ham, beef, roast pork and seafood “as first-time cooks have the opportunity to create new culinary traditions.”

The Kroger family of stores will also carry plant-based meats for the growing demand for vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian options. These items include meatless roasts.

Overall, retail turkey sales have increased this year, according to the Turkish National Federation. The industrial trade group expects demand and sales to remain strong throughout the holiday season. The shift to more plan-driven consumer buying habits resulting from the pandemic also means Thanksgiving shopping is expected to gain the upper hand earlier this year.

A recent poll by Butterball, one of the largest producers of turkey products in the United States, found 87% of consumers are committed to celebrating Thanksgiving. Nearly nine in ten adults who typically celebrate Thanksgiving say they will hold the Thanksgiving meal even during a pandemic.

Butterball predicts that there will be more but smaller gatherings. This year, 30% of people say they only welcome their immediate family this year, or more than 18% of people who generally would. The growth in celebrations also means there will be more first-time guests. At the same time, 17% of people say staying at home has made them hone their household skills and feel more confident about cooking a Thanksgiving meal.

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Nonetheless, Butterball predicts that the demand for turkeys will be the same as usual, if not more. Of those who will be serving a turkey this year, three-quarters plan to serve a turkey the same size or larger than last year.

On the contrary, Koch Turkey Farm doubles the number of smaller turkeys for the holidays, although it still produces a full range of sizes.

“We anticipate an increase in units, with more consumers buying smaller birds,” Brian Stein, president of Koch’s Turkey Farm, told FOX Business. “We started assigning more numbers than usual to smaller sizes in anticipation of this vacation. We are maintaining production in all of our usual size ranges, with more emphasis on the smaller sizes, as we do not have solid data on the COVID holiday numbers with the turkey in the center of the plate.

The Pennsylvania-based group sells about 400,000 turkeys on average each Thanksgiving with 1.2 million annual sales.

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Jaindl Farms, a family-owned turkey production business, has grown an additional 50,000 turkeys this year in preparation for Thanksgiving. The company typically produces around 750,000 to 775,000 turkeys each year, including the two dressed turkeys sent to the White House each year, a 58-year tradition.

This year, Jaindl Farms is bracing for increased interest with smaller birds, which means more numbers but smaller family reunions.

“Even though Thanksgiving has evolved over the years, with more and more families going to restaurants or hobby clubs to consume their meal, we believe a lot of that will go away this year,” said the founder of Jaindl Farms, David Jaindl. FOX company. “These people are probably eating at home, which is where the increased sales volumes are coming from.”

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