Chicken Hot Dogs

THE REAL CHICKEN: Perdue

A written case analysis on Perdue’s possible venturing into chicken hot dog

by Katrina N. Pontanar

Perdue, in the case, seems to have the biggest dilemma: to enter or to not enter the industry of chicken hot dogs. But even within that dilemma, Perdue is faced with even more petty dilemmas should they decide to get into chicken hot dogs or not. In this paper, I do not intend to give a summary of the case and will not beat around the bush by giving my analysis and recommendations spot on.

Judging from the facts and figures provided for by the case, I strongly believe that Perdue should get into chicken hot dogs.

Why chicken hot dogs

The first reason why I believe that Perdue should enter the scene is due to the fact that Perdue has a very good brand perception. From the case, when Poole blind tested consumers, Perdue proved to be an even better brand than the leader, Oscar Mayer. The fact that Perdue hasn’t really gone serious into hot dogs and was still the more preferred, gives us an idea that the brand itself is very crucial or would somewhat suffice when it comes to marketing. Perdue is a brand that is trusted by consumers, only, the brand hasn’t risked much to meet that valuable trust halfway.

Another reason why they should venture into the hot dog industry is the stark difference of Perdue from other competitors: everyone has gone to processing foods. Perdue is still tagging behind, heavily dependent on its superb yellow chicken that is not even prepackaged. While they are at an advantage for now because processed meat products would need the supply of raw meat, Perdue should also take into serious consideration that the competitors will soon have to acquire, and they will, their own supply of chickens through hatcheries. The high demand of processed food will push the competitors to buy out supply to sustain the business. This trend in the industry must be thought over by the Perdue management. They cannot be a brand that is resistant to change, even if they claim to be a very strong one.

With that, Perdue has since been at the backburner. Their supply of chickens for the franks is not even enough simply because they are not into the hot dogs business. Competitors will soon gain their own hatcheries and will unseat Perdue in no time. In connection to that, Perdue lacks the facilities for growth. They cannot pack chickens like other poultry companies do for grocers and they do not have the capacity to process the meat into franks. This very much limits Perdue. They have been forever an old provider of fresh chicken and that is all they are about. While it is not entirely wrong, I just think that Perdue should use its good brand image to take chances and without having to necessarily tarnish their good