A publication of the USDA AMS Livestock and Poultry Program, Agricultural Analytics Division

December 27, 2018

Thanksgiving Marketing of Whole Turkeys – 2018

 

Thanksgiving is the primary marketing period for whole body 

turkeys. During the 2018 Thanksgiving marketing period, U.S. 

supermarkets featured a variety of whole body turkeys to 

consumers in a range of types and forms sure to please even 

the most discerning shopper. 

Whole turkeys can be found in the retail case either in fresh, 

frozen, smoked, or brined forms. Smoked offerings are 

typically prepared in advance and frozen for added shelf-life 

while brined birds are sold in fresh form and are normally 

specialty types. Smoked turkeys continue to rise in popularity and are particularly favored in the Southeast which led the 

nation with 34% of smoked offerings, 17% from Florida alone. The South Central states came in at 21% of offerings with 

Texas accounting for 13% of total U.S. offerings. Combined, these two regions accounted for 55% of U.S. offerings of 

smoked turkeys during the holiday season. 

During Thanksgiving 2018, 79% of features were for conventional 

birds, down 3% from 2017. Turkeys raised in conventional production 

systems continue to comprise the majority of offerings but their

feature share continues to decline as production of antibiotic-free 

(ABF) and organic turkeys increases. Production of turkeys raised 

without the use of antibiotics is a rapidly growing trend in the U.S. as 

producers look to satisfy a growing consumer awareness and demand. Preliminary estimates for 2018 indicate production 

of ABF turkey is up 5% over 2017 while organic production exceeds 2017 by one percent. This growth is reflected in the 

increased marketing share of ABF and organic turkeys at Thanksgiving 2018. Offerings of all specialty types increased 3% 

in retail advertising (8% since 2016) led by a 2% rise in ABF and a one percent rise in organic offerings. Since 2016, ABF 

offerings have doubled in feature share and organic nearly as much. Another trend reflected in retail feature activity is the 

growth of free-range organic production, up one percent over 2017. Offerings of kosher birds was up a half percent over 

2017. Kosher birds are typically featured for Hanukkah and not necessarily for Thanksgiving. In 2018, Hanukkah began 

within two weeks of Thanksgiving, resulting in increased featuring compared to 2017 when Hanukkah coincided more closely 

with Christmas. 

As ABF whole turkeys become more available in the marketplace, the average ad price on feature by grocers has declined 

and the availability of frozen birds has risen. The average ad price for fresh conventional turkeys at Thanksgiving, including 

all terms and conditions, was $1.60 in 2018, 

down 4% from 2017 while the average ad 

price for frozen conventional birds was $0.97, 

down 6% from 2017. A similar comparison of

ad prices for ABF whole turkeys shows 

average ad prices for fresh birds slightly 

lower at $2.26 while average ad prices for 

frozen ABF birds were down 23% from 2017 

at $1.38. This follows a 20% ad 

price decline in 2017 

compared to 2016. 

Information for this report is derived from data reported in the Feature Advertising by U.S. Supermarkets Meat and Poultry report series.

M arket Insights

2018 2017 2016 2018 2017 2016

overall 79% 82% 87% 21% 18% 13%

fresh 29% 32% 37% 65% 64% 64%

frozen 65% 63% 60% 29% 26% 30%

brined -- -- 3.2% 4 % 5 % 1 %

smoked 5 % 4 % 0 % 1 % 4 % 5 %

Thanksgiving Featuring of Whole Body Turkeys by Condition

2016-2018 by percentage of features

Conventional Specialty

2018 2017 2016 2018 2017 2016

Conventional 79.3% 82.4% 87.5%

Specialty 20.7% 17.6% 12.5%

 antibiotic-free ............................................................... 12.3% 10.5% 6.4% 59.3% 59.6% 51.4%

 organic .................................................. 4.3% 3.7% 2.5% 23.5% 20.7% 19.9%

 kosher......................................................... 1.4% 1.0% 1.5% 6.5% 5.6% 12.0%

 free range .................................................. 1.1% 1.9% 1.2% 5.4% 10.5% 9.7%

 heritage .................................................. 0.7% 0.4% 0.4% 3.6% 2.0% 3.1%

 non-GMO ................................................. 0.3% 0.1% 0.3% 1.3% 0.7% 2.1%

 organic heritage ....................................... 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.3% 0.7% 1.7%

 halal ......................................................... 0.01% 0.02% 0.02% 0.04% 0.09% 0.16%

Thanksgiving Featuring of Whole Body Turkeys by Type

2016-2018 by percentage of features

Specialty Breakdown

$/lbs. 2018 2017 2016 2018 2017 2016

conventional 1.60 1.67 1.77 0.97 1.04 1.09

antibiotic-free 2.26 2.28 2.61 1.38 1.80 2.26

Average Feature Sale Price at Thanksgiving

Fresh Frozen