Super Bowl: Surge in chicken wings as carnivore-centric diets gather pace and sustainability challenges rise

Meat proteins maintain their market share as the go-to Super Bowl LIX snacking options this year as US sports fans gear up for Sunday’s big match. Traditionally, chicken wings are the hottest choice for Super Bowl menus, with the National Chicken Council’s (NCC) annual chicken wing report projecting Americans will consume 1.47 billion chicken wings while watching the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles battle for the Lombardi Trophy.

This figure represents an increase of 1.5% from last year’s game, cementing chicken wings as a firm favorite on a day that has become just as much of a food-centric holiday as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Traditional meat food choices are bouncing back amid what some see as a shift in food trends that champion animal proteins and “carnivore” diets. In contrast, while there are plenty of plant-based options for Super Bowl snacking, they do not seem to be dominant this year. 

This is believed to be part of a broader cultural shift in the US driven by popular subculture “internet celebrity” figures and the re-election of President Trump, who plans to change the focus of US food and agricultural policies. This shift is backed by Robert F Kennedy Jr., a well-known long-term opponent of ultra-processed foods and big food companies.

Football is food

For decades, chicken wings have been strongly associated with American football. The trend took off in the 1980s when US consumers started preferring boneless-skinless breast meat, and wings became an inexpensive byproduct for chicken producers. Simultaneously, restaurants and bars (sports bars were becoming more popular at this time) realized they could charge low prices for the relatively inexpensive protein that was considered shareable and affordable. 

According to the NCC, retail wing sales growth for the NFL Super Bowl representative markets (Philadelphia 19% and Kansas City 21.9%) increased during the playoffs this year (for the four weeks ending January 19, 2025, versus the prior period). 

Meat heavy diets are gaining traction throughout the US.Super Bowl chicken wings sales and consumption do not seem to have been impacted by recent bird flu cases in the US, as some recent reports suggest. However, tightened supplies have driven up prices.

The rise of animal protein

Donovan Conley, PhD, associate professor of language and thought communication studies at the University of Nevada, US, tells Food Ingredients First: “The biggest trend I’ve noticed in recent weeks and months is the ‘carnivore diet,’ which is a uniquely ‘right-wing’ cultural phenomenon. Jordan Peterson (all beef), Joe Rogan (hunting), and now RFK have played major roles in shaping this trend.”

“The ideological DNA of this movement is anti-vegan, anti- ‘big food’ (processed, sugar-laden), pro-animal fat, and seems to be the next iteration of the popular ‘keto’ diet that found favor among the CrossFit crowd years ago. There are these repeat images of wooden cutting boards filled with steak, avocado, and eggs — protein is the new mantra.”

“Animal fat, butter, parmesan cheese, egg yolks, raw steak, and a few berries — these are the signifiers of ‘MAHA’ (Make America Healthy Again). Google Trends shows a big spike in interest in the ‘carnivore diet’ in just the last month, corresponding with Trump’s victory, would be my guess.”

The other big trend Prof. Conley points to is the rising cost and shrinking supplies of chickens and eggs due to bird flu. “I noticed lots of online action around Waffle House’s new 50 cent egg surcharge to offset this supply crunch. Aside from deviled eggs, Super Bowl snacks aren’t heavily egg-centric, but of course, chicken wings could be similarly affected.” 

He adds that another big market dynamic is the ongoing popularity of delivery, moving beyond pizzas and wings to groceries and household goods. “There seems to be no slowing down in this sector.”

“And then, of course, there’s AI. I’m not sure how this new technology might connect with or impact food trends surrounding the Super Bowl, but I personally used ChatGPT and Claude to help me generate menus over the holidays (with quite good results). Might we see the use of AI in commercials/marketing? Will hosts and guests use it to come up with wild new snack ideas? These are just some hunches and guesses, not actual trends I’m noticing.”A push back against the rise of plant-based alternatives and processed foods is on the rise.

Plant-based alternatives taking a back seat?

The rise of plant-based is slow in the US compared to Europe, but big brands offer a diverse range of meat and dairy alternatives. However, plant-based products may be more on the sidelines this year. 

“There are a significant amount of online accounts, blogs, and plant-based influencers who offer non-animal Super Bowl snack ideas, but how common and popular are they? My hunch is that vegan and plant-based foods are still waiting to crack into (male) ‘sport cuisine’ and especially football. If my hunch about the ascendance of ‘the carnivore diet’ is on point, the plant-based options will likely not have much presence this year,” Prof. Conley continues. 

“I looked up how many NFL players are vegan, and I found lists celebrating maybe ten players across the whole league of close to two thousand. The other thing about ‘plant-based’ is that they are heavily processed foods, and ‘ultra-processed’ is finally coming under wider scrutiny. So, the options are out there, but my guess is they won’t be a major part of the food story this year.” 

Super Bowl and sustainability

Another issue at the core of this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans is bolstering sustainability practices, including food waste initiatives, redistributing surplus food, and the reuse and recycling of Super Bowl-related food packaging. 

Food waste may be seen as an inevitable consequence of such a huge sporting event, but Super Bowl organizers have several recovery and redistribution food programs in place to help get the expected mountains of leftover food to people who need it. 

Meanwhile, recycling initiatives include more recycling bins than ever before, and extra staff will be drafted to reduce contamination by sorting through bags to maximize the number of recycled bottles and cans.

The carbon footprint of the food sold at the game will also be tracked to inform future Super Bowl better sustainability initiatives.