Foodservice operators in every segment are revamping breakfast menus and adding more portable and healthy items—all in an effort to build traffic during the morning daypart. But that is only one way to capture the breakfast customer, claims Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Chicago-based research firm, Technomic. While 20 percent of consumers said that they’re eating breakfast away from home more often than they were a year ago, most people still eat breakfast at home, according to Technomic’s 2013 Breakfast Consumer Report.
“Opportunities to promote breakfast can extend far beyond conventional morning hours,” said Tristano. “Operators looking to promote this daypart can leverage consumer interest in all-day or late-night breakfast programs. There’s also room to expand brunch options and even get creative by applying traditional breakfast flavors to non-breakfast foods.”
Several key findings in the report provide more insight into what the breakfast consumer wants:
- Limited-service breakfast customers place a high importance on value menus, breakfast sandwiches and portability
- Full-service breakfast customers are most interested in variety, all-day breakfast options and signature menu items
- Coffee is essential; 64 percent of consumers drink coffee at breakfast and 54 percent of these caffeine fans prefer a restaurant that offers free refills
- Consumers are fussy about coffee; 30 percent agree that they are loyal to concepts that serve their preferred brand
- Consumers link breakfast with health; 63 percent feel it is unhealthy to skip breakfast. Open-ended data shows that many consumers want more healthful breakfast options
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