Plant-based nugget prices cheaper than real chicken

Chickenflation is a real thing, and plant-based protein maker Alpha Foods is taking advantage of skyrocketing chicken prices to grab the attention of non-meat eaters and meat eaters alike.

Over the last year, the price of chicken wings skyrocketed from $1.50 per pound to up to $3 to $4 per pound as male roosters underperformed in terms of breeding expectations causing supply to dwindle even as demand increased. Alpha Foods has taken advantage of these meteoric price jumps and begun a campaign that is intended to encourage chicken lovers to try a plant-based and far-cheaper alternative.

To ensure that the price of its chicken nuggets are at par or below that of animal-derived chicken, Alpha Foods has committed to countering prices increases by offering its plant-based nuggets at a correlating falling price. So, if chicken wing prices rise by $2, Alpha Foods chicken nuggets will go down by $2.

Consumers looking to avail themselves of this discount will need to go to Alpha Foods website and claim a coupon which will vary day by day. At the time of publication, chicken prices were up to $2.81 per pound while plant-based chicken prices were down to the same price, a discount representing a 29.5% drop in the company's plant-based nugget prices.

The campaign will continue through the end of next week.

While such a price slashing is bound to get consumer attention in the short term, Alpha Foods will have to continue to get creative in order to maintain consumer interest in its brand that is just one of many chicken alternatives currently flooding the market. From Beyond Meat and Daring, to tech-forward Nuggs and Incogmeato’s Chik’n, the plant-based chicken market is tightly packed. However, the increased competition is driven by a growing hunger from consumers for alternative options. According to Grand View Research, the plant-based chicken market accounted for more than 34% of the global plant-based meat revenue share in 2019 and is slated to grow into a $1 billion industry by 2027.

As Alpha Foods continues to monitor chicken prices over the next two weeks, things are unlikely to improve from a price standpoint. A report from February citing United States Department of Agriculture figures found that the national stock of chicken wings was the lowest that it has been in over a decade. Part of the pressure is indeed due to the underperformance of male chickens, but it is also attributable to an increasing demand for chicken wings from the public as well as lingering supply chain constraints from the pandemic.

While the price of Alpha Foods’ nuggets will eventually even out, this publicity stunt – which is accompanied by a billboard-sized tracker in Times Square in New York City – will undoubtedly grab the attention of a few curious consumers and perhaps even generate some loyal customers.