Reduced Consumption of Chicken Breast Due to Dining Out Decline
Supply Imbalance in Partial Meat Market... 'Chicken Wing' Sold Out
Supply Imbalance Expected to Persist as bhc and Others Launch Wing Menus
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Sunghye] Kim Jimyeong (alias, 33), an office worker living in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, ordered her favorite Kyochon Chicken Honey Combo through a delivery app, but the order was canceled, so she called the store. During the call, an announcement played stating, "Due to a shortage in the supply of domestic chicken wings, wing menu orders may not be available," and the store staff also apologized, saying, "Due to a shortage of wings, combo menu orders are not possible."
According to the industry on the 11th, several chicken brands including Kyochon Chicken have been experiencing disruptions in wing menu sales since early this year due to unstable supply of chicken wings. In some Kyochon Chicken stores, there are even prior notices that wing or combo (wing + drumstick) set orders are not accepted.
Franchise owner Lee Hyunju (alias) sighed, "The quantity of chicken wings we can receive is small, so we repeatedly sell out early every day," adding, "It is regrettable that we have to keep canceling orders."
According to the related industry, the biggest cause of the unstable supply of chicken wings is the continued consumption slump of chicken breast and regular meat since last fall. This has led to worsening management in the partial meat dismantling market. A poultry industry official explained, "Dismantled chicken breast or regular meat usually goes to processed products or markets like Dakgalbi, but as consumption in the food service industry has collapsed, partial meat dismantling itself is not proceeding smoothly, so supply cannot keep up with the demand for chicken wings."
In addition to the consumption slump, the growth of chickens slows down in winter, and delayed shipment has intensified the supply-demand imbalance. A representative from Harim, a chicken-specialized company, said, "Recently, due to a lack of demand for large chickens of sizes 10 to 11 used in the chicken industry, there have been disruptions in the supply of chicken wings," adding, "I understand that the overall market is unable to meet the supply of chicken wings."
The market price for chicken wing partial meat is also gradually rising. According to the Korea Broiler Association's price information, the price of chicken wing partial meat was 4,657 KRW on January 2nd but jumped 38.2% to 6,438 KRW on the 4th.
A Kyochon Chicken representative said, "Currently, due to difficulties in the partial meat dismantling market, wing supply is unstable, causing some wing menu items to sell out early," adding, "Our company has a high proportion of partial meat, so we are experiencing more difficulties in supply." The representative emphasized, "We are doing our best to resolve supply instability through price increases for wing products from partners, purchasing backlog parts, and increasing new partners."
Meanwhile, as competing brands like bhc focus on wing menus, the unstable supply of chicken wings is expected to continue for the time being. According to bhc Chicken, the 'Wingstar Series,' made from wing and drumstick parts, surpassed 600,000 units sold within two months of launch. In particular, the 'Gold King Wing' from the Wingstar Series sold 320,000 units, becoming a bestseller.
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