4 Chicken Menu Trends We’re Tracking

CHICAGO -- As the most consumed animal protein, chicken is a foodservice staple. Knowing how diners’ chicken preferences have changed in recent years can help operators stay ahead of menu trends.

Click through to discover the chicken preparation styles, seasonings, glazes and cuts consumers say they’re more interested in now than they were in 2015, per Technomic’s 2017 Center of the Plate: Poultry Consumer Trend Report …

Preference for honey on chicken is growing, according to the report. Nearly half of consumers (46%) say they prefer honey on chicken today, up from 42% in 2015. Beyond honey, preference is also increasing for lemon, chipotle, black pepper and bourbon glazes and marinades.

Chipotle and black pepper interest may relate to growing demand for spicy fried chicken, especially among millennials. A third of millennials (33%) say they are eating more fried chicken with spicy flavors now than they were two years ago.

Consumers increasingly prefer black pepper and cayenne pepper to spice or season their chicken at foodservice establishments, the report said. Three-quarters of consumers (72%) today, compared with two-thirds of consumers in 2015 (67%), want their chicken flavored with black pepper. Three in 10 consumers (28%) prefer cayenne pepper to season their chicken today, up from less than a quarter of consumers in 2015 (23%).

More young consumers than their older counterparts demonstrate a strong preference for hot spices, including cayenne pepper, red pepper and chile pepper.

Fewer consumers now (37%) than in 2015 (43%) prefer chicken to be skinless, pointing to a growing openness to chicken skins. The acceptance of chicken skins may be attributed to the growth of fried chicken. While fried chicken is well represented in the convenience-store industry, new varieties are still popping up at chains such as U-PAK-IT Corp. in recent years.

Rotisserie preparations are trending up for chicken. Two-fifths of consumers (40%) say they prefer rotisserie chicken for lunch today, up from a third (33%) who said the same in 2015. More than two-fifths of consumers (45%) would now like to eat rotisserie chicken for a dinner entree, compared to two-fifths of diners (40%) who said the same in 2015.