>>Trends in the consumption of morning foods

Some 18 billion individual breakfasts were consumed in the home last year. The number of occasions has declined by 1% compared with last year. However, food and drink consumed out of the home before 10am has increased by 9%. Adults, in particular, are driving this trend.
The top food at breakfast is still cereals, which are present at 55% of morning meals. Among children they are even more popular, representing 62% of their consumption. Health is beginning to play an important part in children’s breakfasts. This is having a real knock-on effect on the types of foods consumed by children. Growth categories include hot cereals, fruit and yoghurt.
The dynamics of breakfast are changing. Almost 40% is prepared in less than 10 minutes, the number of components are declining (2.17 servings per occasion in 2001 vs 2.11 last year) and light snacks are growing (up 2%). Breakfasts in the home before 9am continue to grow - 34% are consumed between 7 and 8am and this has grown by 17% compared with the previous year.
Bread is another important food at breakfast, present at 37% of all occasions - 75% of it toasted. However, consumption of bread at breakfast is in decline against the previous year by 4%. Marmalade is still key, worth 8% of breakfasts, and jam is worth 5%. Spreads are very reliant on their host product, ie bread, and so with the growth in convenience we could see long-term decline in this category at breakfast time. However, morning goods are up 8%, driven by croissants, crumpets and muffins.
Health is important, with healthy products posting 5% growth.
Fruit is a key driver of this healthy need and is consumed at one in every 10 breakfasts. Yoghurts are also more likely to be consumed for health reasons, with 2.9% of all breakfasts featuring yoghurt.
However, health is mainly linked to the start of the week. Cereals are more important during the week due to its functional nature - 65% consumed during the week compared with 52% at the weekend. Enjoyment is key at the weekend, when consumers have more time to prepare food.
During the week, only 7% of breakfasts are cooked, but by the weekend this has increased to 19%.
Hot drinks are still the main breakfast drink. Half of all occasions feature a cup of tea, and more than a fifth feature coffee. Milk and dairy drinks are becoming more important, mainly due to their health benefits. Health drinks have grown 37% since the previous year, driven by the probiotics market.
Laura Wilson, TNS Family Food Panel
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