Where Does Costco Source The Meat For Its Rotisserie Chickens?

Large, flavorful, and barely making a dent in your bank account with the unbeatable price of $4.99, Costco has some of the best rotisserie chickens around. Apart from the minor controversy that arose when the grocery chain announced a switch from plastic clamshell packaging for the chickens to flimsier plastic bags, loyal members appreciate Costco's commitment to quality for these massive 3-pound chickens. Between taking them off the shelf after just two hours to ensure freshness and, even better, not being willing to sacrifice affordability, even if it means Costco doesn't directly make a profit on the product, there's a reason they've retained popularity through the years of surging grocery prices.

But with more than 100 million chickens sold every year, where does Costco source them all? The company's model has changed a little throughout the years, most notably with recent sourcing disputes causing a rift between the chain and Tyson Foods, a major supplier that lays claim to nearly 25% of poultry producers' market shares. Costco continues to do some business with Tyson, and also buys chickens from Pilgrim's Pride and Foster Farms, but after the creation of its own dedicated chicken production complex in Fremont, Nebraska, in 2019, the wholesale club is slowly moving toward having more of its poultry supply be self-owned for the sake of control over quality and pricing.

In February 2022, Costco and Tyson Foods had a legal dispute over allegations of price fixing and conspiracy to fix prices. However, since only a small portion of the chickens Costco sells are able to be produced by the company's private complex, partnerships with Tyson and other major poultry producers have continued. Still, nearly 6 million of the chickens that Costco sells each year come from a complex in Nebraska owned by the grocery chain and managed by Lincoln Premium Poultry (LPP), which was established for Costco in 2016. LPP handles raising the chickens, slaughtering them, and shipping them to stores, while Costco roasts, seasons, and packages them fresh in-store. Both Tyson and LPP have faced complaints about poor treatment of the birds, but no change has come about so far, with Costco responding to an animal welfare lawsuit concerning LPP filed in 2022 by noting the facilities were following the "minimum standards" (via the Washington Post). 

If you want to know for certain where your specific rotisserie chicken came from, the packaging should include a USDA inspection label with information about where it was raised and processed via an establishment, or EST, number that corresponds to a specific poultry plant. You can use the Food Safety and Inspection Service's Establishment Directory online to correlate this number to more information about where and how the chicken was raised.