Valerie posted this question on the Springs Bargains Facebook page:
What are your thoughts on the chicken from Zaycon? I just got an email that the boneless chicken breast is $1.69/lb for 40lbs.
The company she’s referring to is Zaycon Foods, which you can read about here. To be clear, I should state that I have not used Zaycon Foods at all, so it’s possible their chicken breasts are of such amazing quality that the quality itself would negate what I’m about to say. (However, do not be impressed by their “all-natural” or “hormone-free claims; almost all chicken breasts are “all-natural” [it just means minimally processed and nothing else] and the USDA doesn’t allow the use of hormones in chicken.)
I don’t forsee myself ordering from Zaycon Foods at this point for one simple reason: I don’t think it’s a good enough price to have to deal with buying forty pounds at once. Sam’s Club* currently has their Member’s Mark chicken breasts for $1.77/lb, and for $0.08/lb more, I’d rather buy it at Sam’s and not have to freeze forty pounds of chicken all at once.
Additionally, you have to pick it up somewhere, which is an extra trip (I’m not sure where their dropoff locations are but they aren’t the grocery store parking lots I frequent!) and would probably end up costing more in time and money than I would save over the Sam’s price. I think that $1.69/lb would be a great price in some parts of the country, but I just don’t think it’s that great of a value here – at least not enough to warrant buying forty pounds worth.
Readers, have you used Zaycon Foods? Is there something I am missing about the quality/price? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.
*If you’ve read for awhile you know that I am constantly on the fence about getting a Sam’s Club membership. I don’t have one, but I’m considering it again since I’m thinking about doing some freezer cooking. :)
$1.99 for Pantry Essentials (gallon) at Safeway
I have never purchased from this company. Though I have friends who have and were very happy with the chicken. I know the price is good, but if you wait a couple of weeks, Albertsons will have their chicken, b1g2free again. I think last time it was Sanderson farms chicken and came out to $1.67 a pound. I like sunflower/sprouts chicken and it is $1.99. I personally don’t have the freezer space for 40lbs of chicken.
I purchased this last year and was very impressed with the quality of the chicken. I ended up splitting the pack with 3 other people, so we each got 10 lbs. the chicken had hardly any fat and tasted much better an some of the frozen packs ou can buy at the grocery.
I bought their chicken last year and was quite happy with it. The purchasing and pickup was a snap – like going through a drive through. Ordering online is easy, and for pickup..you drive up, show them the receipt and they load up your vehicle with the chicken. I have never had to wait around – they are always ready and waiting with my order. Much, much faster than going into a grocery store! I have been happy with the quality of the chicken. I took it all home, threw a bunch into a roaster to cook and shred it. Then freeze it into smaller bags to have ready for soups, enchiladas, etc. I also grilled a whole bunch and sliced it, then froze it to have ready for pizzas, pasta dishes, wraps, and anything else. It’s the only way to feed a family! I love having it already cooked and ready to eat. I have already ordered mine for this month – 80 pounds this time – hopefully enough to last my family for a year until they come back!
I bought 40 lb last year, split with 3 other people. I have to say that i would probably NOT order it again. It was a decent deal, but I had to drive to Aurora from Parker to pick mine up, and probably spent more on gas than the amount I was saving from buying in bulk. But really that isn’t the main reason…I found that the chicken was sort of lumped into the box, some was partially frozen together, and I had to sort through it and separate it all out into smaller baggies. Frozen chicken grosses me out anyway, but I was also pregnant at the time. I just found that it was a ton of work to separate it all out, again, for not a very big savings. I also don’t like the breasts that are double-still attached in the middle-I ended up cutting those apart which took even more time. All in all, it was a decent deal, but I much prefer to buy from Sprouts on sale, etc, where the breasts are layed out in the cartons for me to see the quality and amount of fat, etc. I didn’t notice a taste or quality difference from Zaycon, either.
I bought 40 lbs the last time they were here and I’m not ordering again. The delivery pick up was close to my house and the process was very fast. However, the breasts were huge and the time I spent cutting the rib meat off and cutting the breasts into normal portions negated any savings. By the end, I was grossed out. I didn’t think the quality was superior; I actually think the chicken breasts KS has on sale are better.
I had read so so reviews about Zaycon before I ordered last time and I thought I’d give them a try. But not this time.