The Great British Breakfast is a gigantic market, worth a staggering £11.4 billion and growing. Cash & carries and delivered wholesalers have a two-fold opportunity to capture the opportunity, working as they do with customers in both retail and foodservice.
Looking at the wealth of research, the breakfast landscape is increasingly influenced by the rising out-of-home eating trend. Time-poor consumers are often in a rush and want breakfast options that are healthier but still taste great. Brits spent £5 billion on out-ofhome breakfast foods in 2017, with the average person eating breakfast on-thego at least once a week spending about £2.30 each time. (Kantar World Panel.) To make the most of the Breakfast opportunity, it is vital for wholesalers to have well-stocked, versatile aisles that are easy to navigate, offering a range of exciting breakfast alternatives with daily or weekly deals that give savings, in addition to the wholesale discount.
Offering special deals can help cultivate loyalty with retailers and caterers. KAMERA Convenience Retail’s study indicates wholesalers should encourage retailers to merchandise breakfast foodsto- go products in a chiller or display at the front of store, as 48 per cent of customers expect to see this. Convenience store shoppers on a breakfast-to-go mission typically spend 57 per cent more in store than those who only purchase a drink to go.
CEREALS
Our working day breakfasts are about health: at weekends, when we have time to be more leisurely, enjoyment becomes more important. 97.4% of us eat breakfast in an average week (source Kantar World Panel) but our busy lives and the rising food on the go trend means one in six breakfasts are now eaten either on the go or at work.
The proportion of consumers breakfasting on the move rises to almost a quarter (24%) of 25-34s and one fifth (21%) of 35-44s. That’s the breakfast news according to Nestlé Cereals, who recently launched their new Breakfast to Go range, the UK’s first packaged cereal and milk solution, to address this need and help busy Brits enjoy breakfast cereal on-the-go.
Cereal is one of the most popular choices for breakfasts at home, eaten at 1 in 2 occasions but up to now due to limited choices it has only been eaten out-of-home in 1 in 20 occasions. Containing a 45g pot of cereal, a 189ml carton of milk and a spoon, and with a £1.99 RRP, Nestlé Cereals’ Breakfast to Go is a simple and convenient way for consumers to enjoy two popular cereals, Shreddies and Shredded Wheat Honey & Nut at work and on-the-go.
Nestlé Cereals is pledged to making breakfast better by providing tasty and convenient breakfast cereals for individuals and families. By 2020, every cereal that carries the green Nestlé banner will have whole grain as the number one ingredient.
Last year Cereal Partners announced their commitment to a 10 per cent average sugar content across their cereal portfolio by this December, which will see 225 million fewer teaspoons of sugar in the nation’s diet, building on over a decade of reducing sugar and salt while increasing levels of whole grain.
Cereal Partners’ research shows breakfast products should be grouped by flavour or health need. Wholesalers need to work with suppliers to offer price marked packs where possible, as the data shows 84 per cent of shoppers like to see these in their local c-store.
Kellogg’s latest cereal innovation is its new joyböl brand targeting young urban Millennials, who represent 14% of the UK population and are set to account for 75% of all packaged food growth by 2025.
Millenials like to share their food experiences on Instagram, with 1.5 million posts on the subject to date. The ‘deskfasting’ habit already represents 12% of breakfast occasions and sets joyböl up to take advantage of both the trend and the long-term behaviour of busy, on-the-go consumers.
Britain’s first packaged ‘smoothie bowl’ with no need for refrigeration, joyböl contains a mix of grains, nuts, seeds and fruit in an on-the-go pot. Just add cold water or milk and stir and enjoy. joyböl pots come in three flavours, Super berries and acai: Strawberry almond quinoa: Mango and coconut.
With 45% of shoppers wanting to add more protein to their diet, Weetabix’s newest variant Weetabix Protein Chocolate Chip has been introduced to meet consumer demands. Incorporating chocolate, the leading flavour in the protein market, Weetabix believe it will follow the success of their core Weetabix Protein product, which won a Product of the Year Award in 2016 and established the protein trend.
Staying with Cereals, PepsiCo is reformulating and relaunching its Quaker brand as part of its ongoing commitment to offer consumers betterfor- you options. The UK’s bestselling porridge brand (Nielsen Jan 2018), Quaker now has a new look and its best ever recipe, with over 175,000 kg of sugar removed from the Quaker portfolio.
Quaker Oats, Oat So Simple sachets and pots will now contain no added sugar. Quaker is also extending its Porridge To Go Breakfast Squares with a cinnamon flavour.
Steph Okell, Quaker Senior Brand Manager at PepsiCo, says: “Our research shows that for a third of households that don’t buy oats, the barrier to purchase is that they don’t know anything about them.”
Quaker is also expanding its portfolio with a new breakfast drink range. Following 40% year-on-year growth (Kantar) in breakfast drinks, this is the first time Quaker has launched a drink to accompany its popular porridge, granola and muesli range. The new Quaker breakfast drink is available in Vanilla and Red Berries flavours, containing 86% milk and 11g of proteins.
BREAKFAST BISCUITS AND BARS
Marmite biscuits – Spread the word! With 1 in 10 breakfasts eaten on-the-go (KANTAR) and the brunch trend showing no sign of slowing, for many of us the traditional breakfast table is no longer the norm. Hence the UK’s most iconic breakfast brand, Marmite, is continually adapting its product offering to meet the changing consumer demand with their first ever breakfast biscuit under the much-loved Marmite brand, to fill the gap when it comes to savoury breakfast biscuits. Unilever developed the crunchy, delicious Marmite-flavoured biscuits in partnership with artisan bakery Thomas Fudge’s. Suitable for vegans just like original Marmite they are made with wholegrains and contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and provide a source of fibre, perfect for consumers looking to enjoy the great taste of Marmite at home or on-the-go.
Simon Tovey, Commercial Director at Thomas Fudge’s, comments: “New Marmite Breakfast Biscuits not only provide a great tasting savoury product, but deliver additional choice for consumers in a predominantly sweet category. With striking packaging featuring the instantly recognisable Marmite logo, the new product will create stand out on-shelf, helping drive growth in the Breakfast Biscuits category.”
Birthday cake for breakfast? The Birthday Cake Carb Killa bar is the latest ‘party trick’ in Active Nutrition and protein brand Grenade’s portfolio of low sugar, high protein snacks, a sprinkleladen bar delivering 20 g of whey protein and just 2 g of sugar.
Mondelez’s belVita Breakfast is the UK’s number one healthy biscuit (Nielsen), and the only breakfast biscuit with proven slow release carbohydrates. Launched in 2009, belVita is now worth £78million in RSV (Nielsen.) The belVita concept was founded on the insight that one in three people in the UK skip breakfast during the working week, due to lack of time (Mintel.) Recent research by belVita also shows nearly half of Brits (46%) are more likely to have a good day if they eat breakfast (One Poll).
belVita Breakfast is available in single packs in several variants: belVita Strawberry Duo Crunch, belVita Honey & Nut, belVita Crunchy Hazelnut and Soft Bakes Choc Chip. belVita’s ‘Good Mornings’ £6m marketing campaign is ongoing throughout 2018. The belVita brand is ideal for both retail and catering outlets. Caterers stocking the brand should consider dual siting near complimentary categories such as drinks, coffee machines.
MICRO SNACKS
Rustlers All Day Breakfast Sausage Muffin from Kepak Convenience Foods has introduced the UK’s top-selling micro snack to a new eating occasion. The breakfast product features a sausage patty in a muffin bun, topped with cheese and including a sachet of tomato ketchup, with an RRP of £1.50.
Adrian Lawlor, Marketing and Business Development Director at Kepak: “One of the core need-states the Rustlers brand meets is the “Quick Option.” Whilst breakfast at weekends can be a leisurely affair, there is real time poverty when it comes to breakfast during the week, so the “Quick Option” needstate is particularly important. While Quick Hot Breakfast has been well served by the High Street QSR Market, Rustlers’ entry gives wholesalers an exciting opportunity to win a share.”
Following the launch of the Rustlers All Day Breakfast Sausage Muffin, Rustlers now provides a full category day part solution and features in the key consumption occasions, breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a major presence in three of the key shopper missions; food to go, meal for tonight and top up.
Adrian Lawlor explains: “Our aim was to launch a product concept that was well established in foodservice and critically would be competitive with McDonald’s and Greggs from a value for money perspective. Our consumer research highlights we’ve achieved that, with 94% of shoppers interested in the concept. Our early stage sales and consumer response indicators are re-enforcing our confidence that this will be a very significant launch.”
BAKERY PRODUCTS AND PASTRY
Bakery products and pastry present major opportunities for wholesalers to build their foodservice business, although independent retailers are of course free to buy these products from cash & carries and merchandise them in their stores as food to go. Breakfast bakery is a very exciting category at the moment, with product news for this autumn from the major suppliers.
Erwan Inizan, Commercial Director UK at Bridor, says three trends are shaping the development of breakfast bakery products in wholesale – health, indulgence and convenience.
On the health front Bridor has created a number of baked goods that include muesli as an ingredient. Muesli features in their new Extravagant croissant collection B’break, a range of 70g frozen, fully baked rolls for a quick fix breakfast, available in Cocoa- Chocolate Chips, Muesli, 2 Olives & Rosemary and Chorizo. In Indulgence Bridor have launched the Extravagants range of 100% pure butter Viennese pastries, in an generous 95g portion. Available in Muesli and Blueberry, Raspberry Cheesecake Style and Triple Chocolate, these large croissants are frozen, ready to bake. The convenience comes in these products being available as food to go.
Demand for more bread varieties as breakfast options has grown since 2017, says Jane Deegan, Marketing Manager at Kara Foodservice, who supply primary foodservice, wholesalers, distributors, cash ‘n’ carry and secondary foodservice.
Kara’s research shows bread’s share of breakfast occasions has increased by almost 2% year on year, to 43.4%, with growth across multiple day dining occasions including breakfast, lunch and snack times, as busy consumers demand convenient and cheap on-the-go food.
Muffins, sandwiches and toast rise to the occasion for out of home dining at breakfast, with 6.6% of visits for a toasted English muffin and 7.3% for sandwiches or toast as the main item. Consumers are increasingly aware of their dining choices, with a sharp rise in demand for ‘healthy’ dining options such as vegetarian and vegan. Offering a convenient, speedy breakfast and including ‘healthy’ items can help foodservice operators stand out.
Coffee shops and cafes, which account for a quarter of savoury bakery purchases at breakfast, have a real opportunity to succeed in the breakfast market if they are flexible. Kara recommend exploring new and varied breads and developing speedy, satisfying on-the-go items.
Lantmännen Unibake UK’s products under their Schulstad Bakery Solutions brand include ReadyGlazed Danish pastries, viennoiserie, sweet treats, continental savouries, speciality and French breads. They also offer a wide range of fast food breads, including premium and classic burger buns, baps and hot dog rolls, under the Americana brand. All products come ready to bake or thaw and serve.
Miniature formats allow consumers concerned with portion control to indulge, the biggest reason for buying sweet bakery for breakfast being as a treat. The dessert-inspired Schulstad Bakery Solutions Mini Signature Selection is a range of modern mini Danish pastries including a Lemon Cheesecake Coronet, Strawberry Shortcake Crown, Salted Caramel Plait, Toasted Coconut Swirl and Cherry Chocolate Coronet.
26% of all consumers have pastries for breakfast out of home, rising to over a third (35%) of 16-24s, while only 13% of breakfast eaters have them for breakfast at home, hence a well-stocked selection of viennoiserie products is vital for retailers/operators.
Danish pastries are also on the up in the in-store bakery category, with value increase of 1.6% to £62.6m (IRI).
Wholesalers should recommend customers stock products like Lantmännen Unibake’s Schulstad Bakery Solutions Maple Pecan Plait, Cinnamon Swirl, Vanilla Crème Crown, All Butter Croissant, Pain Chocolat, Pain Raisin, Chocolate Croissant and Almond Croissant.
Croissants remain the top sweet bakery breakfast item, with croissant quality cited by 44% of croissant buyers as a reason for choosing an establishment.
Carrs Foods’ research into food to go shopping reveals Croissant (74%), Pain au Chocolat (51%) and Brioche (44%) were the favourite out of home breakfast snacks.
Carrs Foods has launched seven individually wrapped ‘On the Go’ products within its St Pierre brand. The new range includes Croissant, Pain au Chocolat, Brioche Swirl, Brioche Chocolate Chip Roll, Caramel Waffle, Caramel Cake Bar and Chocolate Cake Bar, joining the existing Belgian waffle products Butter, Chocolate & Cinnamon. Each product is individually wrapped to be eaten with one hand and cause minimal mess, important factors in food to go.
WHOLESALERS IN ACTION
Lomond – The Wholesale Food Co is urging retailers to embrace food to go, to stand out from the crowd with its latest hot food offering, which includes breakfast favourites such as sausage or bacon rolls, breakfast pizza twists and Scottish muffins with sausage patties and egg.
Comments are closed.