Driven by millennials: carried out breakfast by age
Carried out breakfast by age 
     
  Meal occasions (m) YoY % change
 Aged 4 and under   4.2 36.4
 Aged 5-9   1.7 -62.5
 Aged 10-15   2.6 -44.0
 Aged 16-24   20.6 50.5
 Aged 25-34   81.4 31.8
 Aged 35-44   66.7 -10.7
 Aged 45-54   63.6 0.9
 Aged 55-64   16.9 67.7
 Aged 65+   5.3 8.5
     
Source: Kantar Worldpanel, 52 w/e 25 March 2018    

Millennials are the key drivers of growth in carried-out breakfasts, with almost 40% of 16 to 34-year-olds eating breakfast on the go, up 35% from 75 million last year to 102 million. At the same time, carried-out breakfast accounts for just 5.3 million of meal occasions for over-65s, up 8.5% on last year.

“For those who want a slice of the millennials’ breakfast, satisfying the on-the-go option is key as well as ensuring health credentials are the focus,” says Kantar Worldpanel analyst Charlotte Lovell.

At the same time, the number of 10 to 15-year-olds eating breakfast on the go is down 44% year on year to 2.6 million occasions. And they’re not just eating less breakfast on the hoof - they’ve eaten 60 million fewer servings of breakfast in the past year, down 7% from 830 million to 770 million.

Source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 25 March 2018

Practicality is key: reasons for choosing breakfast options
Reasons for choosing breakfast options  
  Servings (m) % change
 Practicality   19275.0 1.6
  Quick to prepare   6475.0 0.7
  Complements rest of meal   5734.9 -2.0
  Filling   7567.5 7.6
  Easy to prepare or clear up   5288.5 1.0
  Makes the meal complete   1943.6 -0.1
  To tide meover until meal time   187.2 13.2
  All that was available   788.8 3.1
  Can eat on the move   301.6 15.6
  Less cooking   65.8 12.2
  Needed using up   52.1 -13.0
     
Source: Kantar Worldpanel, 52 w/e 25 Mar 18    

Consumers are increasingly looking for practical options, or ones that can be eaten on the move. The number of carried out occasions has grown 9.5% to 263 million occasions (though they still only account for 1.4% of all breakfasts). 

Despite the growth in ‘practicality’ and ‘quick to prepare’, we are still happy to spend some time cooking up breakfasts. The average time taken to prep breakfast is increasing (now averaging 7.4 minutes vs 7.1 minutes last year). 

Health is also an important need for breakfast, accounting for 28% of all servings. Starting the day off right is an attractive proposition as consumers tend to start the day with good intentions and make more indulgent choices as the day progresses. There is room to drive this further as growth of health at breakfast has slowed to 3%, compared with 5% the previous year.

Source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 25 March 2018

Porridge heats up: breakfast take home value sales
Cereal value sales  
     
  Value this year (£m)  %yoy
Cereal 1318.1 0.7
 Breakfast biscuits/cereal bars 444.5 2.2
Porridge  247.0 4.8
 Breakfast Drinks   18.7 -11.1
     
Branded 1517.7 -0.7
Own label 510.5 8.1
     
Source: Kantar Worldpanel: 52 w/e 22 April 18    

The top three breakfast categories - ready to eat, hots and alternatives (that’s pastries, biscuits, cereal bars, etc) - are all in year-on-year value growth.

With total value sales up 1.4% to £2,028.2m on volumes up 2%, only breakfast drinks are in decline at take-home level, with value sales down 11.1% on volumes down 14.5% (see p52) [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 22 April 2018]. 

Ready to eat remains the market’s biggest sector, with a 65% share and sales up 0.7% to £1,318.1m, while hots is the best-performing subcategory, growing share to 12.2% with value sales up 4.8% on volumes up 6.3% [Kantar]. 

Sales for brands are down 0.7% in value on volumes down 1.8%, while own label has enjoyed value growth of 8.1% on volumes up 8.6% [Kantar] as average price per kilo of own label decreases but branded prices continue to rise. 

“With category penetration in total breakfast 97.5%, we firmly remain a nation of cereal eaters,” says Kantar analyst George Moore. “But the years to come are likely to pose some challenges for cereal manufacturers.”

Source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 22 April 2018