“The whole turkey will always be the centre piece of the Christmas table for most families at Christmas but we have to recognise that many Christmas gatherings are becoming smaller with the growth in single parent families and couples having less children,” says Mr Kelly.

“This is leading more families to choose a jointed turkey in future, and we know that already 15 per cent of our customers have a joint instead of a whole turkey,” says Mr Kelly in his annual pre-Christmas letter to hatchery customers. The KellyBronze breast joints, individually wrapped and weighing 1 – 2 kg, are now well established for a small Christmas lunch.

“Ignore this trend at your peril and do not try to talk yourself into thinking it is too much hassle and not enough money. This was most people’s reaction when we had to bleed turkeys, and then eviscerate them. Markets change and we must change with them.”

Mr Kelly says that jointing a bird is a lot easier than eviscerating it, and in recent years jointed products have become a growing and profitable part of their business.

He also urges traditional turkey producers to add value to their product by adding quality. “Remember it is the niche quality sectors that are growing,” he says. Producers should do more to promote the benefits of their product, for instance investing in good photography of their turkeys to produce professional point-of sale display material.

Prices for Kelly Turkeys products are up this year by just under 4 per cent, reflecting higher costs for energy, labour distribution and packaging.

ThePoultrySite News Desk