Broiler Chicken Product Development: How to Avoid Homogenization and Make Breakthrough

Broiler chicken products generally fall into three categories: raw materials, raw prepared products, and cooked prepared products. Raw prepared products usually involve cutting, shaping, marinating, and coating raw chicken, which is then sold fresh or frozen, such as chicken skewers and fillets. Cooked prepared products, on the other hand, are raw prepared items that have been further processed by frying, steaming, roasting, or stewing to make semi-cooked or fully cooked products, sold either at room temperature or frozen, such as chicken nuggets, wings, and feet. Depending on the sales channel or target customer, these products are available in either small packages or bulk.

Simple Process, Wide Market Differentiation

Raw prepared products have a simpler production process and limited variety, so we won't delve into those here.

In reality, the production of cooked prepared products is also straightforward—usually involving marinating, steaming, roasting, or frying chicken ingredients to create ready-to-eat products or frozen products that require reheating.

Due to differences in dietary habits and culture, China's consumption of broiler products differs from other countries. Chinese consumers prioritize taste, aroma, color, texture, and visual appeal over nutritional value. For instance, chicken feet are more expensive than meat cuts, bone-in products are more popular than boneless, and golden-colored items like drumsticks and wings are preferred over white chicken breast meat.

Each part of a chicken can be used, including neck, breast (split into major and minor portions), drumettes, wings (flats and tips), leg meat, drummettes, feet, heart, liver, gizzard, intestines, skin, and bones. Some consumers even enjoy lesser-known parts like the tail and comb.

New Product Development Strategies

Developing new products isn't easy. R&D can fall into habitual thinking patterns, which can stifle creativity—just as top talent is rare in every field, with only a few able to innovate. Here are some strategies to encourage breakthrough ideas in broiler chicken product development:

1. Use New Equipment: Once standard processing techniques like marinating, frying, and roasting are in place, consider adding innovative technologies such as searing, infrared roasting, and ultra-high pressure treatment.

2. Combine Traditional Methods: Traditional methods like coating -> frying -> roasting -> freezing can be reimagined. Could you sequence them differently, for instance, by roasting -> coating -> frying -> freezing? The possibilities are endless.

3. Modify Raw Materials: When shaped chicken bites, fried karaage bites, or steamed and roasted leg and wing products flood the market, consider creating new forms by cutting raw materials into small pieces and reshaping them.

4. Combine Ingredients: Beyond edible chicken parts, incorporate other ingredients like potatoes and other vegetables, creating novel products by cutting, blending, and reassembling.

5. Explore New Additives and Modify Raw Ingredients: Food additives are abundant, so think beyond meat-specific additives. Utilize baking or confectionery additives, combined with machinery, to develop unique flavors and textures.

In today's information-saturated world, innovation is challenging, and isolated development is nearly impossible. True innovation results from a synthesis of insights from sales, marketing, consumer feedback, R&D, and various suppliers.

Embrace Open-mindedness and Divergent Thinking

To become a leader in the industry, it's essential to foster an open mind and encourage divergent thinking!