How Perdue Keeps Driving Innovation After 100 Years

BY CHRIS PERDUE

PERDUE FARMS got its start more than 100 years ago, when my great-grandfather Arthur Perdue left his job as a railroad agent on the Eastern Shore to go into the poultry business. As a family-owned company, our legacy is important to us—but so is our future.

We’ve introduced many innovations over the years, from being the first major chicken company to eliminate routine use of all antibiotics in our animal-raising practices, to the commitment to provide a 100% vegetarian diet for our chickens with no animal by-products, and leading the industry in animal welfare.

However, being innovative also means we’ve had to change what we offer—and how—to meet consumers’ evolving preferences. More than ever before, people want products that are convenient, nutritious, and fit into their busy lifestyles. And above all, they need to taste good.

With approximately half of shoppers buying meat and other perishables online, we launched our first direct-to-consumer e-commerce website, PerdueFarms.com, in January 2020. The site has allowed us to offer tailored product bundles—from Father’s Day grilling to back to school snacking—while learning what people want in real time and helping us better meet them where they are. We have even been able to launch new product innovations through PerdueFarms.com to assess consumer interest and fine tune our offerings before rolling them out nationally in retail grocery stores.

In the fall of 2020, we leveraged our e-commerce site to launch PERDUE® THANKSNUGGETS, a first-of-its-kind, limited-timeoffer during the Thanksgiving season, that combined No Antibiotics Ever Turkey with classic fall flavors, like sweet potato, for a unique holiday snack. After the product sold out online in under three minutes, we worked in 2021 with our grocery partners to roll out THANKSNUGGETS in many retail stores across the country, including at Walmart, Sam’s Club, Kroger, ShopRite, and many others.

Building on those learnings, we followed a similar process for our PERDUE® CHICKEN PLUS® Chicken Tots™, which combine two of America’s favorite comfort foods, chicken nuggets and tater tots, into one delicious, bite-sized snack. After launching in retail earlier this year, PERDUE Chicken Tots were recognized by PEOPLE Magazine as one of the “Best Supermarket Products of the Year” as part of the publication’s 2022 Food Awards.

Additionally, the Chicken Tots are part of our larger CHICKEN PLUS lineup of products, which blend the chicken that people love with vegetables for ¼ cup of veggies per serving, helping to serve the growing number of “flexitarian” families who are committed to getting more vegetables in their diets, and especially to help parents of picky eaters get more nutrition into their kids’ diets.

Three generations (from left to right): Jim Perdue, Frank Perdue, and Arthur Perdue

Beyond product innovation, as we look to the future it’s clear that technology will play an ever-increasing role in people’s lives. That’s why we were excited to partner with Samsung last summer to make Perdue offerings available through its latest Family Hub Smart Fridge, which allows consumers to search recipes, plan meals, purchase groceries and more—right from a touch screen on the appliance.

Whether it’s a new product in your fridge—or one that you order using your fridge—we believe that providing options and offering consumers quality protein without sacrificing on flavor, nutrition, or eating experience is a great recipe for success.

Even though my grandfather probably wouldn’t have quite imagined these advances when he started his “backyard table-egg business” in 1920, they do fit with the values and entrepreneurial spirit that he infused into Perdue Farms. We think he would be proud. n

Chris Perdue is vice president of e-commerce at Perdue. For more information on Perdue’s latest offerings, visit www.Perdue.com.