Tyson eager to meet antibiotic-free chicken demand

President of Tyson Foods says company can offer customers ‘exactly what they want,’ and they want chicken raised without antibiotics.Hayes, who was named Tyson’s president in June and will take over as its CEO at the conclusion of 2016, discussed Tyson’s venture into NAE chicken while participating in the Bernstein Consumer Summit on December 7.“The consumer’s looking for certainly more antibiotic-free (chicken) and we have a line that is no antibiotics ever. That line has been growing from a very small base, but it’s been growing aggressively,” Hayes said.“We feel like we are in a position where we can offer customers exactly what they want and when they want it. Customers have been moving toward more NAE and so we’re happy to do that. Our margin profile is strong on our NAE products, and so the growth that we see in that NAE space matches the supply chain.”Hayes acknowledged that Tyson Foods would be open to the idea of new acquisitions to help it better meet the NAE chicken demand.