Complete SWOT Analysis of Tyson – One Of The World’s Top Leading Food Producers

Updated on: Feb 9, 2022
SWOT Analysis of Tyson - Featured Image

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We have previously written an article on the SWOT analysis of HelloFresh – a publicly-traded German meal-kit company. This time we are back with another blog on the SWOT analysis of Tyson.

Tyson is one of the leading meat food manufacturers in the United States. The company was established in 1935 and since it’s been successful in the continued production of meat foods. 

One of the main aspects that made Tyson be one of the top food manufacturers is its marketing efforts. As everything is getting digitalised, the way of marketing too changed. If you’re interested in learning the way of marketing from the best, check out our Free MasterClasses on Digital Marketing by the CEO and Founder of IIDE, Karan Shah.

So, are you ready to grasp how Tyson became so successful in the food industry? In this blog, we will learn about the SWOT Analysis of Tyson and decode the answer. Before we start, let us take a quick glance at Tyson the company, its founding, products, financial status and competitors. 

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About Tyson

SWOT Analysis of Tyson - John W. Tyson (In Right) - The Founder of Tyson
(John W. Tyson (In Right) – The Founder of Tyson)

Tyson Foods Incorporated is an American multinational based in Arkansas, Springdale, that operates in the food industry. It is known to be the world’s second-largest processor and marketer of beef and chicken after JBS S.A. and annually exports a huge volume of beef throughout the United States. Tyson Foods has secured the rank of 79 in the year 2020 in the list of Fortune 500 in United States Corporations by total revenue.

John W. Tyson founded the company in 1935, and it prospered during World War II when the chicken was not included in rationed commodities. The corporation employs 141,000 employees worldwide, including 122,000 in the United States, as of 2019. The majority of Tyson’s locations are in the Midwest, with 16 in Arkansas, 11 in Texas, 9 in Iowa, and the rest primarily in the east. 

Tyson is responsible for nearly a fifth of the beef, chicken, and pork sold in the United States. It is a major marketer of chicken, beef, and pork to supermarkets, foodservice distributors, and national fast food and full-service restaurant chains in the United States.

Quick Stats on Tyson
Founder John W. Tyson
Year Founded 1935
Origin The United States
No. of Employees 139,000
Company Type Public
Market Cap US$ 35.779 Billion (2021)
Annual Revenue US$ 43.185 Billion (2020)
Net Income/ Profit US$ 2.061 Billion (2020)

 

SWOT Analysis of Tyson - Tyson Foods Products


Products of Tyson

Tyson has been dealing in these areas for a while:

  • Breaded Chicken
  • Any’tizers® Snacks
  • Grilled Chicken
  • Meal Kits
  • Fresh Chicken
  • Frozen Chicken
  • Meat and Cultured Meat


Competitors of Tyson

  • Hormel Foods
  • Bunge
  • Conagra Brands
  • Pilgrims Pride
  • Golden State Foods

Now that we understand the company’s core business, let’s delve into the SWOT analysis of Tyson.


SWOT Analysis of Tyson

SWOT Analysis of Tyson can show how a well-established company uses its opportunities to ensure its growth. It can show how the company takes advantage of its strengths to use the opportunities while working on its weaknesses. SWOT Analysis of Tyson will also reveal its expansion plans.

To better understand the SWOT analysis of Tyson, refer to the infographic below:

SWOT Analysis of Tyson - SWOT Infographics of Tyson

Now first let’s begin with the strengths of the company from the SWOT analysis of Tyson.

Strengths of Tyson

An organization’s unique capabilities that give it an advantage in capturing more market share, attracting more customers, and maximizing profits are referred to as its strengths. Following are Tyson’s strengths:

  • Distribution and Reach: Tyson has more than 123 food processing plants and ship bases that are backed up by a strong distribution network that ensures its animal-based products are easily accessible in a timely manner to a large number of customers.
  • Dealer Community: The company is self-sufficient in some product areas and has strong relationships with its suppliers. The link between local sales organizations helps to develop the market ensuring a deep understanding of local customer and consumer needs.
  • World’s Leading: Tyson is one of the largest producers of meat, chicken and beef in the world, especially in the United States where it has a strong presence with over 300 facilities spread across the US and abroad.
  • Product Innovation: Automation of activities improved the consistency of Tyson Foods’ goods and allowed the company to scale up and down in response to market demand. Product innovation is a successful track record of developing new products.
  • R&D: Tyson has its headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas where Tyson has created a 100,000 square foot Discovery Centre and employed around 300 employees in R&D to work on new products and better packaging. 
  • Skilled Labor Force: Tyson has invested heavily in employee training of its 139,000+ employees, resulting in a large number of skilled and motivated employees.


Weaknesses of Tyson

Weaknesses are aspects of a business or brand that should be improved. Tyson’s major flaws are as follows:

  • Limited Reach: One of the major limitations of Tyson is its reach. It is currently operating in limited countries. Majorly working in the metropolitan cities. It does not deliver to some of the major countries in the globe such as India & Russia and this becomes a weakness as the company is losing some of its potential customers.
  • Costly R&D: Tyson has spent a lot of money to build its branches in different countries. For Tyson, CSR and corporate charity are not just words, but a tangible commitment to taking great social responsibility, even when it comes at a high financial cost. 
  • Low Current Ratio: The company’s current ratio, which measures its ability to meet short-term financial obligations, is lower than the industry average. This could imply that the company will face liquidity issues in the future.


Opportunities for Tyson

Opportunities are potential areas of focus for a company to improve results, increase sales, and, ultimately, profit.

  • Tap Into New Markets: Tyson Foods may be able to tap into new markets as a result of changing customer behaviour. It gives the company a wonderful chance to diversify into new product categories while also generating new revenue sources.
  • Social Media Presence: Currently, Tyson social media presence is zero should be considered by the marketing team of Tyson because a presence on social media is vital in today’s marketing industry. Tyson can increase its market base by sharing seafood recipes or posting product pictures with attractive packaging to capture the attention of customers. If you are interested in the field, check out our social media marketing course to get started.
  • Changing Lifestyles: Like the changing lifestyle and workload get even more increased for working professionals, people are more likely to consume ready to cook meals which saves their time. Tyson has an opportunity to tap and enter this gap where it can deliver food ingredients and recipes to customers.  
  • Online Presence: As more and more people come online and spend most of their time over the internet, the ways to widen its e-commerce presence creates a great opportunity for Tyson to connect and serve more and more people which will ultimately increase its customer base.
  • Acquisitions: Tyson is well known for its number of acquisitions which includes acquisitions of companies like IBP Inc., cheesesteak, American Protein etc. and many more. Continuing such acquisitions will be advantageous for Tyson to capture more market share.


Threats to Tyson

Threats are environmental factors that can be harmful to a company’s growth. The following are some of the threats to Tyson

  • Currency Fluctuations: Tyson Foods’ profitability may be jeopardised by rising raw material costs. Because the company operates in a variety of nations, it is subject to currency swings, which are exacerbated by the turbulent political atmosphere in a number of markets throughout the world.
  • Environmental Record: Tyson Foods has been involved in a number of controversies related to the environment, animal welfare, and the welfare of its own employees. Tyson Foods has been accountable for multiple examples of environmental damage. Tyson is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the global food industry. 
  • Employee Work Right: Employees in Tyson are not treated well where Tyson doesn’t care about its employee’s wellness. Cases are recorded where numerous employees got injured at Tyson’s meatpacking plants. If such practices including environment, animal welfare, and the welfare of employees are continued will no longer take Tyson to face serious allegations or even closing of the brand by the country’s government.


This ends our complete SWOT analysis of Tyson. Let us conclude our learning below.

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To Conclude

Tyson foods have been able to make a good image worldwide. Its been providing its products to all brand chains, including McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, Taco Bell and many more. But somehow Tyson is facing challenges in terms of environmental and workforce health concerns and it’s all the fault of Tyson which Tyson should soon improvise with the help of internal meetings.

Lastly, talking about the marketing of Tyson, it is playing well in terms of both traditional and digital marketing. Marketing is an important part of any company’s success, and it’s changing all the time in today’s environment. If you have the curiosity to learn you may check out IIDE’s 3 Month Advanced Online Digital Marketing Course to know more.

We hope this blog on the SWOT analysis of Tyson has given you a good insight into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

If you enjoy in-depth company research just like the SWOT analysis of Tyson, check out our IIDE Knowledge portal for more fascinating case studies.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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