Chicken feet reimagined: A strategic platform for nutritional innovation, industrial valorization, and academic-industry synergies

Chicken feet are an underutilized poultry by-product despite their richness in collagen, essential minerals, and bioactive peptides, which highlights a clear gap between their intrinsic value and current industrial utilization. This study contributes to developing an integrated, multi-dimensional strategic framework that reconceptualizes chicken feet as a high-value resource linking nutritional innovation, industrial valorization, and sustainability in food production systems. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative descriptive design supported by a systematic review conducted in accordance with Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, integrating evidence from peer-reviewed literature, international reports, and global case studies to ensure methodological rigor and analytical depth. The findings demonstrate that chicken feet represent a sustainable and competitive source of high-quality collagen and gelatin, characterized by valuable functional, nutritional, and bioactive properties, making them suitable for applications in food, health, and bio-based packaging industries. The primary novelty of this study lies in bridging fragmented research domains by integrating nutritional science, industrial processing, and sustainability into a unified, implementation-oriented framework. This framework is operationalized through interconnected stages encompassing knowledge generation, technological development, industry integration, capacity building, and the sustainable utilization of resources. Furthermore, the study highlights the strategic role of poultry science programs in higher education as innovation hubs capable of transforming scientific knowledge into marketable products through effective academic-industry collaboration. Practical implications include improving resource efficiency, reducing waste, supporting sustainable production systems, and creating new economic opportunities in global markets. The study concludes by positioning chicken feet as a key component of a sustainable bio-based economy and provides evidence-based recommendations for policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders to maximize their economic, nutritional, and functional value.