Cherkizovo Group launches sales of Latifa-branded halal turkey

Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s largest meat producer, has expanded the range of halal products under the Latifa brand. Apart from chicken, it now includes turkey meat produced on the Company’s own farms. The launch of new products is driven by the growing demand for halal meat among both Muslim and non-Muslim people in Russia.

Nationwide sales of Latifa turkey kicked off in April 2023. The new line currently includes three products: breast fillet, thigh fillet and breast mince. All of them are produced in 0.45 kg portions, each packed in a convenient transparent tray. The Company uses only premium quality turkey meat from Cherkizovo Group’s own farms located in the ecologically pristine area of the Tambov Region. The production processes strictly comply with the halal requirements, including poultry slaughter done exclusively by hand in dedicated areas of the plant and with the use of specialized equipment.

Latifa brand was established in 2015 for selling halal chicken products. It ranks No. 1 in the Central Federal District by halal chicken sales in volume terms (data for March 2022 — February 2023). According to Ipsos, Latifa brand awareness in Moscow was 13% in December 2022 ¹ .

Cherkizovo Group decided to expand its offering of halal poultry products to keep up with the increase in their consumption in Russia, which is partially attributable to the growing share of Muslim population in the country (by expert estimates, it went up from 4% in 2009 to over 10% nowadays). Another driver behind the higher demand for halal is increased interest from non-Muslim consumers who think products labeled halal are more organic, healthy and environmentally friendly

«There is a good growth potential for halal turkey products in Russia. Although their share in total turkey meat sales is just below 1% at the moment, we believe that it will rise up to 5% going forward to equal the current share of halal chicken sales,» said Victoria Baltais, Marketing Director for Fresh Products at Cherkizovo Trade House.

^1. _{According to a study conducted by Ipsos Comcon LLC in December 2022 among 400 women aged 20–55, buyers of chilled chicken meat and ready-to-cook products in Moscow over the past month. The study is based on answers to the following aided question: «Please look at the list below. Which of these brands of chilled chicken meat and ready-to-cook products are familiar to you?»}