Over recent months, I’ve spoken with senior figures across the UK pork and poultry sector. Their message is consistent - the industry is facing one of its most challenging pricing environments in years. Executives point to a renewed supermarket price war, led by Asda’s latest Rollback cuts, which has prompted competitors to follow suit.
The squeeze on retailer margins is now feeding into supplier conversations, with many asked to help deliver lower shelf prices. Experts do not view this as temporary but expect margin pressure to persist in the short to medium term.
This dynamic has shifted the balance of power. Most retail supply agreements run two to three years, giving supermarkets the flexibility to re-tender or reallocate volumes if they feel prices are not competitive. Suppliers must continually prove cost competitiveness or risk losing business, even when they have long track records of reliability.
Why owning more of the chain matters
One theme that came up repeatedly in my conversations is that producers who control more of their supply chain are navigating volatility with fewer shocks, Cranswick being a prime example. By owning large parts of its farming and processing operations, it avoids intermediary margins and has stronger control over consistency and quality. Integration, as one expert described it, allows Cranswick to “feed themselves first” in tight conditions, stabilising supply and supporting profitability.
The 2025 acquisition of JSR Genetics strengthens that model. By bringing genetics in-house, Cranswick is the only UK pork processor able to tailor traits directly to retailer needs, such as leaner pigs for value ranges. Genetics also improve feed efficiency and deliver more predictable weight bands, cutting waste and supporting margins.
Experts also highlighted how inflation has reshaped consumer behaviour. Households are moving toward larger ‘family pack’ formats to reduce cost per kilo, while trading down between quality tiers. Shoppers still buy pork joints and poultry fillets, but often choose free-range or best-value options instead of organic or premium. Despite this, pork and poultry remain resilient.
Poultry remains the most affordable white meat per kilo, while pork offers versatility and multi-meal value. Several experts also noted that the reopening of Chinese export channels for pork by-products has quietly supported overall volumes by creating value for cuts with limited domestic demand.
Growth isn’t just about building more sheds
However, even established producers are struggling to scale as planning barriers such as traffic, ammonia emissions and local opposition can stall or derail approvals.
Welfare standards add another hurdle as lower stocking densities require about 20% more space per bird, limiting output unless new facilities are secured. The rejected expansion of Cranswick’s Suffolk operations, which would have housed more than 700,000 birds, was repeatedly raised by industry experts as an example of biosecurity risks compounding sector challenges.
Avian flu remains a persistent concern, driving costly culling cycles. Cranswick’s Eye facility has responded by putting biosecurity at its core and is an example of investment aimed at protection, not just growth.
Learning to optimise, not just scale
In nearly every interview I conducted, labour availability was raised as a concern. Wage inflation is disruptive, but availability was described as the tougher hurdle.
Seasonal peaks like Christmas intensify shortages, especially where factories compete for the same workers and automation has become the pragmatic response. Experts pointed to Cranswick’s automated lines at Preston and in sausage operations, not only implemented for efficiency, but to reduce reliance on a shrinking labour pool.
Across interviews, one conclusion stood out - the future of UK protein production will not be decided by capacity alone. It will favour long-term partnerships that justify investment, tighter control of cost drivers, full utilisation of the product, and infrastructure built to withstand regulatory and biological shocks.
Cranswick shows how these levers can work in combination, but the lesson applies across the sector. Producers best positioned for the future will be those willing to rethink their operating models before they are forced to.