Why Operators Shouldn’t Treat Protein as One Market in 2027

Beef, chicken, and eggs are heading in different directions for 2027.

Food supply chains have stabilized since the immediate post-pandemic period, but restaurant operators shouldn’t expect a predictable cost environment in 2027. Inflation, weather, energy prices, trade developments, and animal disease continue to create volatility even as many commodity markets regain their footing.

Protein is one place where those competing forces are especially visible. Consumer demand has remained resilient despite historically high protein prices, while supply constraints continue across several categories. What’s driving those constraints, however, varies considerably from one protein to another.

Protein market trends

“Animal protein markets are not moving in the same direction,” says Dr. Henry Zerby, vice president of food supply management for Sodexo-Entegra.

Beef is likely to keep operators feeling the squeeze. Entegra’s Fall/Winter 2026/2027 Cost Outlook projects cattle supplies will remain historically tight through at least 2027. Even as producers begin retaining more heifers to rebuild the U.S. herd, biological production lags mean meaningful growth is unlikely before 2029. Meanwhile, the continued slowdown at the Mexican border to feeder cattle and uncertainty surrounding New World screwworm are adding pressure to an already constrained market.

“While producers are beginning to retain more heifers to grow the U.S. herd, the results aren’t instant,” Zerby says. “It will take time for calves to reach maturity, and that means the market will remain constricted for a while.”

The numbers reflect that pressure. Entegra forecasts domestic beef prices to average $4.50 per pound in 2027 after rising 22.9 percent in 2026. Beef cutout prices are also expected to remain elevated after increasing 6.7 percent in 2026.

Chicken production growth

Chicken is moving in a different direction. Broiler production is expected to continue growing 1 to 2 percent through 2027, helped by productivity gains and favorable feed costs. Chicken also continues to benefit from its affordability compared with beef as consumers stay focused on value.

Understanding what sits behind those forecasts is important because protein costs don’t move independently. Feed prices, weather, animal disease, production cycles, and consumer demand can change the outlook for individual categories. Favorable corn and soybean meal prices, for example, have helped poultry producers expand, but those costs remain vulnerable to weather and global grain demand heading into 2027.

That makes understanding the forces driving individual categories just as important as watching the overall direction of food costs. Rather than reacting to every market shift, operators can use those insights to make more strategic sourcing and menu decisions.

Entegra is the world’s largest food group purchasing organization with more than $50 billion in annual purchasing power worldwide. A Sodexo company, Entegra helps hospitality-driven organizations improve business performance and grow margins through industry-specific savings solutions, personalized advisory services, digital tools, and corporate social responsibility programs.

“Successful operators should not treat ‘protein’ as one market,” Zerby says. “They should understand the biology, disease exposure, feed inputs and demand dynamics of each species, then use that information to plan sourcing and menus with more flexibility.”

Entegra helps operators understand what is driving costs—not simply where prices are headed. For the complete outlook on beef, chicken, pork, turkey, eggs, dairy, and other key foodservice categories, read Entegra’s 2026/2027 Cost Outlook report.