Poultry specialist Lloyd Maunder plans to switch more chicken production to higher-welfare systems in the wake of recent TV exposés of the chicken industry.
The company has held discussions with its farmers to ascertain the extent to which they can expand production of high-welfare birds following Channel 4’s Big Food Fight series fronted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver.
It has also called on other speciality chicken producers to come forward and supply its business.
Though consumers have been shifting towards higher welfare birds for some years, the programmes had accelerated the trend, explained Lloyd Maunder director Andrew Maunder.
Since the programmes had aired demand had significantly outstripped supply, he said, but he added: “This is not a 180 degree turnaround by the consumers. It’s been moving that way for a number of years but not at this rate.”
Another priority for poultry producers was to establish the extent of demand for higher-welfare systems., said Maunder
Working with a number of its retail customers, Lloyd Maunder had earmarked several trial stores that would be supplied with as much higher-welfare chicken as was required to establish the level of demand, said Maunder.
“You have to plan your expansions very carefully as it’s very expensive to grow these other types of chicken, so you must be sure that demand is there,” he said.
British Poultry Council chief executive Peter Bradnock echoed the view that last month’s Big Food Fight series had sped up the trend of consumers switching from intensively reared to higher-welfare birds.
However, he added: “All supermarkets had in place a premium indoor plan long before these programmes. It’s not a new phenomenon, but a recognition of what was already happening.”
The 2 Sisters-owned company currently supplies a full range of standard and higher-welfare birds to the retail trade including the big four.
