Breakfast Catering - UK - April 2010 - Market Research Report

Eating breakfast (either in- or out-of-home) is part of the morning routine for six in ten consumers.

Toast and cereal are consumers’ top breakfast foods by far. A third of consumers enjoy hot cereals, such as porridge, and restaurant menus are reflecting this popularity with menu items like McDonald’s Oatso Simple.

With only one in ten consumers stating that they don’t have enough time to eat breakfast, operators can’t rely on the convenience angle alone to sell their own breakfast offers. As price is a clear concern for consumers, breakfast caterers will have to focus on communicating the added value of buying breakfasts in their establishments either through the choice on offer or number of functional foods on the menu.

Six in ten consumers never eat breakfast out of home: women over 55 years old are the hardest consumer group to target for the out-of-home breakfast market. Older age groups find it more convenient to eat breakfast at home and tend to eat breakfast out of home only when they’re staying at a hotel/ guesthouse.

A third of consumers who eat breakfast out of home, do so at their desks. This is linked to the rise in mobile coffee carts in London, particularly outside train/tube stations. Convenience and low cost products drives commuters to purchasing their breakfasts/morning coffee from these vendors, whilst coffee cart operators benefit from lower overheads and a guaranteed high footfall compared to traditional coffee shop outlets.

A fifth of consumers have been trying to eat breakfast at home more recently in order to save money.

A fifth of consumers have been trying to eat more healthy breakfasts recently. Caterers could cut through the ‘noise’ of contrasting healthy eating messages in the media by targeting these health-conscious consumers, such as breakfast products giving consumers one or two doses of their five-a-day. In addition encouraging regular purchases, regularly-changing specials board (in the style of Pret a Manger and Eat’s weekly soups) should help keep consumers engage with the concept and not become bored from a potentially monotonous menu.

Eating breakfast (either in- or out-of-home) is part of the morning routine for six in ten consumers.

With only one in ten consumers stating that they don’t have enough time to eat breakfast, operators ...

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