to 3. 6 times for all consumers. Similarly,
Millennials’ frequency in eating chicken purchased at foodservice was 3. 1 times compared
to 2. 1 times for all respondents.
Frequencies trended downward with
age for the other generational groups, with
the eating frequencies for Generation X
consumers (ages 35 to 44 years) at 3. 6 times
for retail-purchased chicken and 2. 2 times
for foodservice-purchased chicken.
Boomers (45-64) reported chicken eating frequencies of 3. 2 times for retail and
1. 6 times at foodservice.
Greatest Generation (65-plus) consumers reported the lowest chicken eating
frequencies at 2. 6 for retail and 1. 1 for
foodservice.
as the reason for their preference. This reason was followed by convenience and ease
of preparation (89%), healthfulness (86%)
and more economical (82%).
Compared with the 2002 survey, which
was the previous time respondents were
questioned about purchase reasons or prod-
uct attributes, the most signi;cant change in
reason for preference was the higher rating
given to “tastes better.” In 2002, “tastes
better” ranked last in the list of 10 reasons
but climbed to sixth place in 2010.
Preferences based on eating
frequency, generation
As might be expected, consumers
Market penetration by
generation
A similar pattern in household penetration (share) was reported for the four generational groups, with Millennials registering
the highest shares (90% at-home and 80%
away-from-home) followed by Generation
X (86/71), Boomers (83/61) and the Greatest
Generation (79/50).
Frequency and share by
demographic group
Hispanic and black consumers reported
eating chicken signi;cantly more often in
the two-week period than white consumers.
The combined at-home and away-from-home eating frequencies were 6. 9 times
for Hispanic respondents and 6. 3 times for
black respondents. The combined frequency
for white consumers was 3. 4 times.
Hispanic consumers and black consumers also had the highest share of eating
chicken during the two-week period, each
at 92%. The share for white consumers
was 89%.
Why consumers prefer chicken
Respondents reported that they prefer
to purchase chicken rather than other meat/
poultry for a number of reasons. Chicken’s
versatility – ability to be cooked in many
ways – was the top reason in 2010 with more
than 9 out of 10 respondents indicating this
