Turkey producers and processors across the country will spend $2 million over the next two years to tempt consumers to buy more of the poultry.
“We’re not satisfied with the per capita consumption for turkey. It hasn’t matched that of the other poultry meats, namely chicken,” said Dale Enarson, chair of the Alberta Turkey Producers board.
Last year Canadian consumers ate an average of 4.3 kilograms of turkey and production levels declined to 138.3 million kg, according to national turkey board figures. Meanwhile, chicken production rose by 5.9 percent from 1997 to almost 800 million kg in 1998.
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Enarson wants turkey consumption to increase by 30 percent over the next five years with help from an advertising campaign that starts next month. The campaign will encourage consumers to feast on turkey once a week.
“The goal is fairly aggressive. Whether we achieve that goal or not will be a good question.”
Checkoff pays for promotion
Alberta producers have already contributed $70,000 to the national promotion and that was matched by processors. Both groups were charged a half-cent per kg checkoff and have been paying the fee for a year and a half.
The rest of the provinces participating in the three-year national checkoff are only half a year into payments, said Enarson.
Part of the reason turkey consumption remains stagnant is consumer perception, said Enarson, noting it’s still thought of as a holiday meal.
“Turkey has always been a festive meal. Christmas, Thanksgiving and to a lesser extent Easter. But we’re attempting to make it a serious consideration for an everyday meal.”
The turkey industry has to convince consumers they’re getting a quality, nutritious product for a reasonable price, said Enarson. This is a challenge when turkey typically sells for 99 cents a pound during holidays and then is raised to more realistic prices afterward.
“Instead of comparing it to a standard price of say $1.59 a pound, they’re comparing it to that 99 cents special they can remember from a few weeks back.
“Stores have been taking a significant financial loss during those periods to get the customer inside the store. What we need to do is to get the consumer to recognize the true value of the bird,” said Enarson, adding it’s priced lower than beef and pork.
Lois Ferguson, a Toronto dietitian, suggests supplying consumers with recipes and methods of cooking the poultry in 20 minutes or less.
“Still a lot of consumers think about it as the whole bird, that it’s a big job. They want different parts available in the stores and ways to prepare them.”
