New This Thanksgiving Season: A Traceable Turkey

Nevin Barich

LOS ANGELES , November 20, 2018 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – “Hey Nev, where did our turkey come from?”

It was a seemingly innocuous question that my wife asked me the other day in regards to the Thanksgiving turkey we were planning to eat this Thursday.

“I got it from Vons,” I replied.

“No, Nev,” she said. “What farm did it come from?”

I stood there for a moment in the middle of my kitchen, utterly confused by the question. What farm? How should I know? And besides, who cares?

“Honey, how should I know what farm it came from?” I asked.

“Nev!” she exclaimed. You mean to tell me you bought a turkey that we can’t trace?”

My wife was referring to purchasing a turkey from a brand that allows buyers to find out exactly where its bird came from, so that they can be comforted by the knowledge that their food was raised and nurtured in a humane way. This concept is relatively new to me, but it’s definitely on the rise in the industry.

Recently, for example, Hormel Foods announced the launch of its online Turkey Tracker where consumers can track their fresh or frozen Jennie-O brand whole turkey back to its originating farm. Each fresh and frozen turkey package now includes a tracking code stamped on the package's hang tag that can be entered into the Jennie-O Turkey Tracker page on the company's website. Once the code is entered, a regional farm where the turkey was raised is revealed along with a story about the farmers.

Additionally, Cargill is expanding its traceable turkey program this holiday season so more consumers can know the name of the farmer who raised their Thanksgiving bird. Cargill tested the program in Texas last year with its Honeysuckle White brand, and consumers responded so favorably the company decided to nearly quadruple the number of traceable birds available in stores this November and December.

I may be slow to the party, but tracing your turkey this holiday season is apparently the popular thing. If your turkey can’t be traced, go to your local store now and swap it out. Because you never know who’s going to ask you:

“Where did this turkey come from?”

Nevin Barich is the Food and Beverage Analyst for Industry Intelligence, which can help YOU better address your own industry challenges. We invite you to come take a look at our service. Call us today at 310-553-0008 and we’ll schedule you for a 15-minute demo.

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