The Rise of the No-compromise Convenience Hunter. Slow-Mo Breakfast is a No-Go. Shop Small or Not at All. These are the key food trends that the food innovators and consumer insight experts at Tyson Foods see on the horizon in the year ahead. The team looked at purchase data, macro trends and test kitchen results to predict how consumers will enjoy their chicken, pork and beef in 2024.

Thomas Wenrich is senior director, Culinary at Tyson Foods, overseeing research and development and foodservice innovation to create tasty and healthy food experiences that keep up with shifting consumer behaviors and palates. His mantra is “keep eating, keep tasting and keep trying to discover something new.”

“Consumers will be food adventurous while staying time and cost-conscious,” predicts Wenrich. “Our team of chefs and I look for inspirations everywhere, from fine dining to lowbrow regional eateries that bring exciting flavors and new techniques to the table. In 2024, it’s a fusion of culinary adventure and affordability.”

The Tyson Foods team sees three big trends shaping how consumers shop for and dish up their protein in 2024:

RISE OF THE NO-COMPROMISE CONVENIENCE HUNTER

Time-strapped consumers are looking for more ways to cut corners on time but not on taste in 2024. Tyson Foods expects to see more of these No-Compromise Convenience Hunters dominating the grocery store aisles as they seek out protein products that save them prep time without sacrificing flavor or freshness. Purchase intent for these types of products has doubled over the past seven years and shows no signs of dropping off. A few ways this will show up are pre-seasoned meat cuts and meal packs that combine a protein serving with all the other necessary ingredients, so people can make a great-tasting meal without making a last-minute dash to the store.

How We’re Plating this Trend: The Tyson® Pork Griller Steak — steakhouse seasoned or flavored with herb and olive oil marinade — brings freshness and flavor to the table in a fraction of the time. Featuring a patented cut, these pork steaks help convenience hunters go from grocery store to grill in under 20 minutes. Tyson® Slow Cooker Meal Kits pack a delicious family-sized dinner with approximately 22 grams of protein per serving into one easy-to-buy package that can be prepped in your oven, electric pressure cooker or slow cooker. The Tyson® Hibachi Style Beef Skillet with Noodles Kit and Street Tacos with Chimichurri Sauce Skillet Kit are also a full meal in a single package that cooks up in one pan to feed your family even quicker. In 2024, the Tyson Foods team is whipping up ideas for additional meal kits to add to the line-up.

SLOW-MO BREAKFAST IS A NO GO

With commute times returning to near-pre-pandemic levels, consumers are in a bind: they don’t feel they have time for a leisurely breakfast, yet they don’t want to give up on a healthy starter meal that packs in the protein. Tyson Foods is seeing a rising interest in breakfast foods that are handheld and can be enjoyed on the go. Breakfast sandwiches were the fastest-growing item at fast-food restaurants and at convenience stores, too, according to data from Circana.

But that doesn’t have to mean a granola bar or cold toaster pastry – people with no time for a slow-mo breakfast are leaning toward nutrient-dense foods and scrutinizing the grams of protein per serving.

How We’re Plating this Trend: Lahli™ Morning Protein Bites check all the boxes as a pop-in-your-mouth breakfast when you’re on the go. Offering 10 grams of protein per serving and made with flavorful veggies, cage-free** eggs and chicken, this protein product takes the bite out of skipping breakfast for people rushing off to work, workout or carpool drop-off.

And don’t count out the classics. Jimmy Dean® brand, well known for its sausage breakfast sandwiches, continues to find new ways to delight consumers with product innovations such as maple-griddle cakes and plant-based options to cater to younger consumers.

SHOP SMALL OR NOT AT ALL

Faced with the prospect of growing inflation and interest rates in 2024, some consumers are saying less is more at the grocery store. That means both smaller basket size (the retail term for how many items in the cart) and smaller packages of fresh meat, with lower prices to match. Where do consumers most want to see smaller sizes? Fresh chicken breast fillets.

How We’re Plating this Trend: Tyson Foods is meeting the needs of smaller households and families who crave choices with affordable prices at reasonable net weight sizes, like its twin pack of two 6-ounce pre-seasoned, marinated fresh chicken breast fillets. Coming in 2024 … beef steaks and pork chops. These smaller sizes are perfect for individuals, couples or families wanting to cater to differing taste preferences. Can’t agree on barbecue vs. teriyaki? Don’t worry, now everyone gets what they want.

FROM TREND TO TABLE: WHERE INNOVATION HAPPENS AT TYSON FOODS

The place where Tyson Foods translates consumer taste into tasty products starts with the test kitchens at our Tyson Foods Discovery Center in Springdale, Arkansas. That’s where professional chefs, food scientists, sensory scientists, packaging and process engineers, registered dietitians and insights and innovation experts come together to turn food trends and consumer insights into innovative protein products and recipes. The Discovery Center features 19 separate state-of-the-art kitchens along with a pilot production facility, sensory lab, packaging innovation lab and a space dedicated to focus group research.

Products go from concept to production via Tyson Foods facilities such as our recently opened Danville, Virginia fully-cooked food production facility. Danville is one of the company’s most-automated plants to date, producing approximately four million pounds of premium quality, fully-cooked poultry products weekly to meet the increasing demand for iconic Tyson® brand products in both retail and foodservice. In Bowling Green, Kentucky, a 400,000-square-foot bacon production facility features the latest robotics and automated technologies to deliver growing volumes of the company’s popular Wright® and Jimmy Dean® brands.

Tyson Foods offers some of the world’s leading brands, with market share leadership position in 8 of the 10 core categories in which the company competes. From brands that have delighted families for generations – including Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, and Ball Park® – to innovative new products that blend deep consumer awareness with test-kitchen creativity, the Tyson Foods family of more than 35 brands all play a part in the American food experience, past, present and future.

Follow us on social media to keep up with how we’re reimagining the future of protein.

**Made with eggs laid by hens in an environment without cages.