Why urban families still prefer the local chicken shop

What is shaping meat & poultry

Meat, poultry and egg businesses are moving from wet markets to packaged and online formats, where hygiene, freshness and trust decide whether consumers switch.

• Packaged and online meat is growing
• Hygiene perceptions drive outlet choice
• Farm practices affect supply and quality

A packaged poultry brand, working in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad & Kolkata. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

A packaged poultry brand

Sector

Meat & poultry

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Consumer panel, Quantitative research, Qualitative research

The brand sold hygienically processed, chilled chicken through supermarkets and apps, but most families continued to buy from neighbourhood shops where birds were cut in front of them. Growth had stalled after an initial burst of trial, and the brand needed to understand what kept families loyal to local shops and what might persuade them to switch.

• Answer the core question: why urban families still prefer the local chicken shop.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of households.
• Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 7 weeks.

The work focused on 1,600 households.

• households1,600

Audiences we typically reach in meat & poultry

Meat and egg consumersRetailers and butchersOnline buyersPoultry farmersRestaurant buyers

Coverage: Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad & Kolkata. Market: India.

• India

A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.

1. 1Brief
2. 2Online survey of meat buyers
3. 3Accompanied shopping visits
4. 4Insight

We surveyed households that bought chicken at least twice a month, covering purchase channels, freshness cues, hygiene perceptions, cuts, price and trust. Researchers then accompanied shoppers to local shops and supermarkets to observe how they judged freshness and what reassured them. Interviews were conducted in Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada and English, with quotas by city, household size and income.

Consumer panelQuantitative researchQualitative research

households

1,600

• Business respondents were screened on role, company size and involvement in the decision before being invited.
• Respondents were selected across Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad & Kolkata using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
• Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

shopping visits

20

• Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person, supervised in the field.
• The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.

• Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
• Time and location checks on field interviews
• Supervisor accompaniment in the field
• Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
• Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
• Review of open-ended answers
• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
• Significance testing on the differences that mattered
• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping

• Families equated freshness with seeing the bird cut, and packaged chicken offered no equivalent reassurance; many also wanted specific cuts for regional dishes.

Freshness had to be proven in ways shoppers already trusted, not just claimed on a label.

• The brand introduced cut-to-order options through its app with same-day delivery, clear “processed today” dates on packs and recipe-specific cuts.
• Share the findings with the teams closest to customers so they can act quickly.

What we recommended, and the client put into practice

• App orders grew fastest among working families who valued hygiene and convenience.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables
• Interview summaries and key verbatims

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: what do farmers need to improve supply?