The National Chicken Council (NCC) estimated that 1.45 billion wings were consumed during the 2024 Super Bowl LVIII weekend.
The NCC projection was unchanged from 2023 despite a recent decline in inventory of this category. According to the January 24th, 2024, USDA Cold Storage Report, the Wings category showed an 18.5 percent decrease from December 31st, 2022, to a stock of 67.1 million lbs. on December 31st 2023. Although there has been growth in consumption in this category, sales are impacted by competition from boneless wings. Increased demand during 2023 was however reflected in higher prices. It is apparent that grocery retailers are constraining margins to achieve higher sales possibly since a high volume of marinated and breaded wings are now available in bulk, catering and convenience packs from club stores, suitable for home football parties, tailgating and other sports-related events.
The popularity of wings is evidenced by the quarterly reports of Wingstop®, a franchisor of stores serving and delivering various forms of breaded and marinated wings. Some QSRs and casual dining restaurants have added wings to their menus increasing demand relative to availability.