Chickens at the checkout counter: brilliant or a bust?

Reports are out this week that Tesco, the world's third largest retailer, will soon be selling live chickens as they embrace the "grow your own" trend. Seeing a boom in sales of vegetable seeds in the past year, they're expanding their offerings by selling chicks and live egg-laying chickens and buying 30 allotments to rent for growing your own produce.

This isn't, of course, the first chicken story as of late. In fact, the "urban chicken" concept, keeping chickens in city settings, has been positioned as a bit of a trend. There's even an organization "dedicated to promoting backyard chickens in urban residential landscapes." They list a number of reasons to "add chickens into your urban lifestyle":

• Local source of protein
• Better quality
• Sources of fertilizer
• Natural pest control
• And...it's fun! (??!!)

So is this really a trend worth following? Well, we'd say don't count your chickens until they're hatched. To quote Jack Shafer, media critic for Slate, “keeping chickens is a filthy, time-consuming, and expensive way to keep the pantry filled with eggs.”  When abundant and bountiful farmers' markets are selling superior eggs for a little bit of cash, why trouble yourself with chicken feed, chicken coops and lotsa chicken poop?

Consumers are redefining quality every day in ways previously unimaginable. Markers of quality, like fresh and local, do evoke an image and elicit an expectation of authenticity. And in today's marketplace, it's no longer enough to merely sell items; forward-thinking retailers must also create, manage and sell authentic experiences if they hope to differentiate their stores in a way that has significant relevance with consumers. Tesco's definitely doing that here. However, while it's true that consumers are looking to participate in the culture of food and are seeking high-quality, authentic food experiences, they want to do it on their own terms and in a way that's comfortable for them to participate. Cleaning out chickens coops might not be it.

Tesco is, however, positioning themselves as an forward-thinking advocate for their customers' lifestyles, helping them on their journeys in both the world of food AND the world of sustainability. Here they walk the talk in both.

Comments

[Simon Lind]

Chicken keeping doesn't have to be filthy- although yes, chicken poop is poop. But there are good deep bedding methods that make keeping chickens pretty easy.

Chickens are like any animal, they take daiy care- but if you like pets, why not also get some eggs out of it?

If you are thinking about starting your own flock, I have a free mini-course that would be helpful.

[canvas art prints]

Thank you Simon, I'll take a look at your site and I think it's a great idea.