Butterball
How Butterball expanded into national chains and drove 20% menu growth with Tastewise
- +20% YoY growth in turkey menu items
- Expanded into 7 national chains
- 85% of engagements backed by data
“Tastewise gives us access to near real-time data that creates a real competitive advantage. We’re not just selling more turkey, we’re providing true consultation.”
Terry WicksManager of Data & Strategy, Butterball
- Industry
- Poultry / foodservice
- Region
- USA
- Use case
- Chain business reviews, competitive diagnostics, consultative selling
Butterball wanted to move beyond simply selling more turkey and become a partner that helps operators win. But without real-time visibility into what customers were ordering, discussing, and craving, it was hard to bring anything more strategic into national chain conversations.
Using Tastewise, Butterball brought live demand signals into every discussion. Instead of guessing what might work, the team could show what was already working by market, by occasion, and by menu.
Challenges
Butterball needed to show up to chain conversations with more than product, they needed proof.
Limited visibility into real-time demand.
The team lacked a clear view of what customers were craving across regions, occasions, and menu formats.
Difficulty engaging larger chains.
Without stronger insight, it was harder to participate in strategic discussions with national accounts.
Incomplete view of chain performance.
Assessing menu gaps, strengths, and competitive positioning across chains was difficult without a broader data foundation.
Sales conversations stayed too product-focused.
Meetings often centered on selling turkey rather than helping operators identify growth opportunities.
Tastewise’s Solution
Tastewise became Butterball’s real-time lens into customer demand and chain performance.
Real-time demand by market.
Social, menu, and consumption signals showed what guests wanted now, mapped by geography and occasion.
Holistic chain diagnostics.
Butterball could walk into meetings with a clear view of menu gaps, strengths, weaknesses, and competitive positioning.
Customer-ready insights.
The team translated demand signals into simple, visual stories that made opportunities easy to understand.
A shift to consultative selling.
Sales teams moved from pitching products to advising operators on where and how to grow.
How Butterball uses Tastewise
To support chain conversations, Butterball analyzes multiple layers of foodservice and consumer behavior through Tastewise.
Menu signals.
Show what chains are adding, removing, and promoting across turkey and competing proteins.
Consumer demand signals.
Reveal what guests are craving across regions, dayparts, and usage occasions.
Social conversations.
Surface emerging preferences, sentiment, and discussion around dishes, ingredients, and menu experiences.
By combining these signals, Butterball can walk into each chain conversation with a clear, data-backed point of view.
Results
Tastewise helped Butterball turn better insight into stronger relationships and measurable menu growth.
+20% YoY growth in turkey menu items
By aligning menu recommendations with real consumer demand, Butterball helped chains build more relevant offerings and improve turkey menu performance.
Expanded into 7 national chain accounts
Insight-led conversations gave Butterball a stronger position in discussions with larger operators, opening doors that were previously harder to access.
85% of engagements backed by data
Tastewise became a standard part of how the team prepares for and runs customer conversations, making discussions more credible and more consistent.
More strategic customer relationships
Instead of focusing only on product features, Butterball now leads with opportunities, helping operators understand where to grow and how to act on it.
| Challenges | to | Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Limited visibility into real-time demand | Delivered live demand signals across menus, social, and consumption | |
| Difficulty engaging larger chains | Enabled insight-led, strategic conversations with national accounts | |
| Incomplete view of chain performance | Provided holistic diagnostics across menu, positioning, and behavior | |
| Sales conversations were too product-focused | Shifted meetings toward consultative, opportunity-led selling |
Want to see Tastewise in action for your brand?
Get a demoMore customer stories
All customer stories →Irca: Answering customers in minutes, not days, with the Tastewise MCP
Lucia Soave connects what's happening in the market with Irca's ingredients and innovation, supporting sales, R&D and a marketing team made up of chefs. Customer meetings are often 20 to 30 minutes, and a single market-trend request could take multiple days: find the data, select it, build a strategy, then build the deck.
How Acxion turned Salesforce into a smarter selling engine with Tastewise
Axcion didn’t need more data. They needed the right signals in the place their sales team already works. Instead of asking reps to change behavior, Tastewise fit into it, bringing menu and trend intelligence directly into Salesforce and turning everyday workflows into smarter selling moments.
From broad outreach to precision targeting: How Violife increased foodservice conversion to 50%
Violife wanted to accelerate foodservice growth, but traditional outreach methods were inefficient. Broad cold-calling meant sales teams spent time contacting operators who were unlikely to adopt plant-based products.
One intelligence system. Real business outcomes
Consumer panels, market trackers, and agents working together to help food and beverage teams expand distribution, accelerate innovation, and drive demand.
Book a demo
