Breakfast foods attract diners with comforting, satisfying fare. These menu items also carry today’s trends well, housing them in familiar dishes or anchoring them with well-known ingredients. Whatever the culinary approach, breakfast is rich with opportunity.
Breakfast hours have already stretched well past morning, extending the reach of those menu items. The definition of what falls under the breakfast umbrella has shifted too, broadening the category. Consumers are driving these changes, seeking everything from creative comfort fare and global flavour mash-ups to functional foods. Now, many are craving a return to routine, which the morning daypart serves up—all in the familiar, beloved format of breakfast foods.It seems that comfort food is king today—and given the times, it’s easy to understand why. Of course, most breakfast favourites lean toward comfort, giving operators an easy win there. But delivering on consumer values still matters. When looking at restaurant brands that succeed in the breakfast space, a common thread weaves through their breakfast strategies, reflecting consumer values today:1
Using those four guideposts—freshness, new flavours, quality and responsible sourcing—to help guide a successful breakfast menu, consider the breakfast formats that may offer the easiest pathway to success. These are the top 6 growing food categories at breakfast.3
1. NPD Group, CREST® YE September 2019 2. Mintel 2019 3. NPD Group, CREST® YE September 2019