Brits may not be the best of breakfasters, but on-the-go snacks are in. Jaq Bayles reports
No matter how often we’re told, or in how many different ways, we Brits seem intent on resisting the message that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Although TNS data shows that 18 billion breakfasts were eaten at home last year, this is a 1% decline on the previous year - and we are now offically Europe’s worst breakfasters, according to Datamonitor.
While our European counterparts miss an average of 72 breakfasts a year, Britons miss 114, with Datamonitor forecasting that this will grow to 120 by 2009. The company’s consumer analyst, Daniel Bone, says: “More and more are opting to sacrifice breakfast or substitute it for a morning snack to save time. In the UK this is becoming increasingly possible with the proliferation of products targeting such fragmented consumption.”
TNS Family Food Panel confirms that on-the-go eating is a major trend, driven by adults, with food and drink consumed out of the home before 10am increasing by 9%, and there is no shortage of manufacturers trying to tap into this trend.
As well as cereal bars such as Eat Natural and Jordans, there is a proliferation of Continental-style offerings such as croissants and individual-serving dairy products, while Cuisine de France has just released a Breakfast Bar, comprising ‘a full English breakfast’ encased in puff pastry, in its Pierre’s range.
This marked trend toward convenience is also, according to TNS, seeing sandwiches taking an increasing cut of the breakfast occasion, with an increase in penetration of 17.4% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the more Continental way of starting the day is also finding favour in terms of convenience, with cakes, tarts and pastries up 6.6% year-on-year for breakfasts, and yoghurts and fresh cream desserts up 9.2%.
Yoplait Dairy Crest brand manager for Yop, Sylvia Sidhom, says her company’s research shows that consumers are increasingly opting for healthy alternatives offered by dairy products. She says: “Convenience and portability are on the rise and there is greater choice and, therefore, greater interest in the fixture than ever before.”
But, with the national
consciousness still focused on health, it is unsurprising that TNS research found breakfast 25% more likely to be healthy than any other in-home meal.
The rising star is the humble porridge oat. Alex Smith, MD of branded and own-label porridge oats supplier Alara, says: “The fast growth stimulated by Gillian McKeith’s TV programme You Are What You Eat is over, but sales are settling at the higher level and, with the rise in popularity of the low-GI diet, which advocates porridge consumption, we expect further growth into 2006.”
This optimism is shared by Guy Shepherd, shopper insights manager for PepsiCo, which owns the Quaker brand. “The hot cereals segment is flying - IRI puts it up by 36%. People are waking up to the benefits of oats,” he says.
Co-op category marketing manager Helen Eaton says sales of porridge in the Co-op are in growth. “We are currently outperforming the market.”
Meanwhile, previously non-breakfast focused products are increasingly making inroads. Popular dried fruit company Sundora says the five-a-day
requirement has found a natural home in the breakfast sector. Commercial director David Brewis says: “Females in their twenties in particular are mixing a handful of fruit with a bowl of cereal.”
One thing is certain: the traditional family breakfast around the table is in decline. Bone says: “Snacking - be it pit-stop dining, desk-top dining, or eating on the go - is continuing to make traditional mealtimes a thing of the past. However, it is important for manufacturers to meet consumer demand for more nutritious snacks.”
No matter how often we’re told, or in how many different ways, we Brits seem intent on resisting the message that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Although TNS data shows that 18 billion breakfasts were eaten at home last year, this is a 1% decline on the previous year - and we are now offically Europe’s worst breakfasters, according to Datamonitor.
While our European counterparts miss an average of 72 breakfasts a year, Britons miss 114, with Datamonitor forecasting that this will grow to 120 by 2009. The company’s consumer analyst, Daniel Bone, says: “More and more are opting to sacrifice breakfast or substitute it for a morning snack to save time. In the UK this is becoming increasingly possible with the proliferation of products targeting such fragmented consumption.”
TNS Family Food Panel confirms that on-the-go eating is a major trend, driven by adults, with food and drink consumed out of the home before 10am increasing by 9%, and there is no shortage of manufacturers trying to tap into this trend.
As well as cereal bars such as Eat Natural and Jordans, there is a proliferation of Continental-style offerings such as croissants and individual-serving dairy products, while Cuisine de France has just released a Breakfast Bar, comprising ‘a full English breakfast’ encased in puff pastry, in its Pierre’s range.
This marked trend toward convenience is also, according to TNS, seeing sandwiches taking an increasing cut of the breakfast occasion, with an increase in penetration of 17.4% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the more Continental way of starting the day is also finding favour in terms of convenience, with cakes, tarts and pastries up 6.6% year-on-year for breakfasts, and yoghurts and fresh cream desserts up 9.2%.
Yoplait Dairy Crest brand manager for Yop, Sylvia Sidhom, says her company’s research shows that consumers are increasingly opting for healthy alternatives offered by dairy products. She says: “Convenience and portability are on the rise and there is greater choice and, therefore, greater interest in the fixture than ever before.”
But, with the national
consciousness still focused on health, it is unsurprising that TNS research found breakfast 25% more likely to be healthy than any other in-home meal.
The rising star is the humble porridge oat. Alex Smith, MD of branded and own-label porridge oats supplier Alara, says: “The fast growth stimulated by Gillian McKeith’s TV programme You Are What You Eat is over, but sales are settling at the higher level and, with the rise in popularity of the low-GI diet, which advocates porridge consumption, we expect further growth into 2006.”
This optimism is shared by Guy Shepherd, shopper insights manager for PepsiCo, which owns the Quaker brand. “The hot cereals segment is flying - IRI puts it up by 36%. People are waking up to the benefits of oats,” he says.
Co-op category marketing manager Helen Eaton says sales of porridge in the Co-op are in growth. “We are currently outperforming the market.”
Meanwhile, previously non-breakfast focused products are increasingly making inroads. Popular dried fruit company Sundora says the five-a-day
requirement has found a natural home in the breakfast sector. Commercial director David Brewis says: “Females in their twenties in particular are mixing a handful of fruit with a bowl of cereal.”
One thing is certain: the traditional family breakfast around the table is in decline. Bone says: “Snacking - be it pit-stop dining, desk-top dining, or eating on the go - is continuing to make traditional mealtimes a thing of the past. However, it is important for manufacturers to meet consumer demand for more nutritious snacks.”
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