There are no boundaries when it comes to breakfast. As more people skip this meal at home, it offers operators the perfect chance to offer anything from a full breakfast to a cup of coffee or tea with a sweet treat to fill the gap.
It is now one of the most lucrative and competitive sectors for operators and can even boost lunchtime sales as time-pressed consumers kill two birds with one stone and pick up their lunch at the same time.
Figures from analyst Horizons shows that breakfast accounted for sales worth £3.2bn and 7% of foodservice sales in 2012, up a whopping 13.6% year-on-year.
Consumers are short of time in the mornings so anything they can eat on the move or at their desk will grab their attention, says Jacqui Passmore, marketing manager at Dawn Foods.
“We’ve found that when operators have special deals on coffee and a breakfast item together, it encourages consumers to have something to eat as it offers the value they have come to expect,” she explains, adding that muffins particularly make good impulse purchases.
“Bake-off products like Dawn’s ‘scoop and bake’ range mean operators can get that ‘just made’ freshness without the hassle. Available in handy 2kg tubs in a variety of flavours, they can be tailored to suit consumers’ breakfast needs with inclusions, toppings or fillings.”
Delice de France says the £4.9bn bread and baked goods market is expected to grow to £5.9bn over the next three years and has already developed products that it hopes will aid that growth. These include golden syrup pancakes, its award winning wrapped to go range of sweet bakery treats, and its Chocolation white chocolate croissant and chocolate toffee bar.
Brand communications manager Isabelle Davis says toast and cereal are the most popular breakfast food, while croissants and pain au chocolat remain bestsellers among out-of-home consumers. “However, with ‘special occasion’ and ‘experience’ now cited as the most popular reasons for eating out, operators are under pressure to ensure they make more ‘functional’ meals such as breakfast and lunch an appealing out-of-home option for consumers,” explains Davis. “Value-added products are therefore crucial for an outlet’s breakfast offering.”
In the 2012 Lantmännen Unibake Bread Barometer survey, 20% of all UK respondents said they eat more meals and snacks on-the-go than they did a couple of years ago but 24% said they wanted easy-to-handle meals.
“For breakfast-time, viennoiserie is the perfect fit with 60% of all croissants consumed at this meal occasion,” says senior marketing manager Claire Warren. “Single-serve viennoiserie are ideal for consumers on-the-go and also make a great accompaniment to takeaway coffee or tea.”
Kraft Foods claims its Belvita Breakfast is now the number three brand in the healthy biscuits category, and the range has recently been expanded with the launch of Belvita Breakfast yogurt crunch.
Susan Nash, trade communications manager for Belvita brand owner Kraft Foods, says: “According to our research, more than a third of consumers will skip breakfast at some point during the week, with most of them citing lack of time as the reason. We believe the breakfast market has been waiting for a product that is designed to fit in with changing lifestyles.”
Described as an alternative on-the-go breakfast, Kraft says the biscuits satisfy consumers wanting something fast and convenient in the morning and caterers looking to satisfy the demand for healthier products.
New to the McDougalls range of bakery mixes is a multi-use muffin mix, which is a crème-style cake mix with a vanilla flavour, increased volume and long shelf life when baked.
Mark Rigby, senior business development chef at Premier Foods, says the mixes allow caterers to offer freshly prepared snacks for breakfast cost-effectively, which can be jazzed up with different ingredients and fillings.
“Smaller taster samples of each mix can also be made up on your premises allowing you to test the market and find out what is popular with your customers, but also create that ‘freshly baked’ smell which is a selling point in itself and great for enticing new customers,” says Rigby.
Country Choice marketing controller Stephen Clifford says the market for hot baps filled with sausage, bacon or egg, sausage rolls, bacon and cheese turnovers is predominantly male so it is important to offer goods such as Danishes, croissants and pain au raisin to appeal to women, displayed where they can instantly be seen.
“Good quality bean-to-cup coffee is also essential – about one in two food purchases will be accompanied by a hot drink – most likely coffee” he says. “Coffee service does not need to be an assisted serve anymore. Self-serve machines can deliver what is required so long as they offer bean-to-cup coffee made using fresh milk and the delivery speed is between 25 and 40 seconds.
“Meal deals and linked promotions have an increasingly important role in the breakfast occasion. Many retailers discount their coffee sales if the customer purchases a food item such as a breakfast bap or baguette. Half price coffee with any bap, filled baguette, croissant, etc, would be a typical offer.”
The company recently launched frozen bacon and sausage muffins individually wrapped in ovenable film that can be defrosted overnight and baked the next day in around 18 minutes. It is also about to introduce mini snack pack accompaniments that will include potato rostis, wedges and nuggets.
BPEX says sausages and bacon are a key part of any breakfast range but, for breakfast on the run, they need to be hot and ready to serve in a bun or wrapped to be eaten on the move, therefore quality quick and pre-cooked products are essential.
Promoting products that have reduced fat or salt to appeal to health-conscious diners is also a must. For example last year’s foodservice sausage of the year was a premium pork sausage with chorizo and olive oil made by Scan Foods that had its average fat content reduced by 30%. Specific events are another useful marketing tool.
“This year Bacon Connoisseurs’ Week – March 18-24 – will continue to encourage consumers to ‘think again about bacon’ and look for signs of quality assurance when eating out,” says foodservice trade sector manager Tony Goodger.
According to research by the NPD Group commissioned by Aviko, the hash brown is now the third biggest breakfast item after eggs and baked beans in restaurants, being eaten on some 7.3% occasions.
Aviko’s general manager Mohammed Essa says its pre-cooked hash browns help busy cafés satisfy customers with a swiftly prepared, time saving product. “These crispy-coated, fluffy centred and carefully seasoned products – made from grated potato and onion – are also larger than average to deliver a more satisfying plate-fill along with improved profits,” he explains.
“Serve them as part of a traditional breakfast or upsell by adding hash browns to bacon or sausage sandwiches – the latter could increase revenue per ticket by as much as 30%. They can also be served alone or as part of a meal deal with a morning tea or speciality coffee.”
New from Aviko are mini hash brown bites with a reduced salt content for consumers looking for healthier products, which can be deep fried in three to five minutes or oven cooked in 15-20 minutes.
Breakfast condiments matter and Heinz claims its 12g sachets are the top selling portion format for its sauces, while its SqueezMe! pods containing three times the amount of sauce as a regular sachet are designed to make it easier to dispense.
Brand manager Olivier Kutz says its existing customers and the potential customers that would visit, if a breakfast offering were available, will determine a strong breakfast trade.
“Outlets that already serve food and are weighing up the breakfast opportunity could consider offering breakfast as a way of attracting new customer groups such as those wishing to use the premises as an early morning meeting place – for example mother and baby groups,” he explains.
“Communication surrounding breakfast menus should maintain a fun and exciting element in order to help promote the positive aspects of the breakfast experience. They should also be mindful that the competition is not just ‘at home’ breakfasts, but grocery multiples that have broadened their range of morning goods and hot sandwiches which appeal to commuters and workers.”