With the second biggest eating day of the year after Thanksgiving upon us, there’s no hotter time for chicken wings. According to the National Chicken Council’s 2024 Wing Report, Americans will devour 1.45 billion wings while watching Kansas City and San Francisco battle for the championship trophy.
National Chicken Council spokesperson Tom Super says, “Sure, you can have your chips, your guacamole, your pizza. But when it comes to menus next Sunday, wings rule the roost.”
This year’s projection is flat compared to 2023, with USDA reporting chicken production levels are slightly down from last year and wing stocks in cold storage down 13 percent in November compared to the year prior. This could explain the higher demand and, thus, the higher wholesale prices we see on wings. At the retail level, fresh chicken wing prices are down approximately five percent, and frozen wing prices are down 11 percent compared to January 2023.