FOOD NEWS
Here's What Rotisserie Chicken Vendors Don't Want You To Know
by HOLLY RIDDLE
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Rotisserie chickens are known as a "loss leader" for many stores. The company takes a loss on the product because it knows it will get you in the store.
Per the Seattle Times, Costco is willing to lose $30–$40 million per year just to keep rotisserie chicken prices low as shoppers will likely buy other products to go with it.
Chicken Waste
In 2022, a store employee at an undisclosed location posted a TikTok showing several unsold chickens that they were forced to throw away at the end of their shift.
The poster noted that they'd tried to save the waste by refrigerating the chickens overnight, and said that trying to take the leftover chickens home would result in termination.
Plastic Waste
Sometimes, both the sold and unsold chickens generate plenty of waste simply via the way they're packaged in a black plastic bottom tray and a clear, plastic lid.
Some stores are making an effort to reduce plastic waste by using bags or pouches rather than plastic containers, which it estimated would reduce waste by 70% and 800,000 pounds.
Quality
Costco shoppers complained that recently purchased rotisserie chickens had a chemical flavor. Some Reddit users compared it to chlorine, while others noted a soapy taste.
As one Reddit commenter explained, quality and flavor varies from sourcing, so your preferences at different stores may change depending on that day’s supplier.
Reusing
Per a PBS report and Reddit users, some stores source rotisserie chickens not from a particular vendor, but from just across the store, in the store's raw poultry aisle.
Rotisserie chickens are also made from near-expiry whole birds. They can also get additional life in the deli department in products such as chicken salad.