On-the-go options are driving growth in breakfast consumption as workers choose prepared and portable foods to fuel their mornings.
Fewer people are skipping the first meal of the day, with 147m additional breakfasts tucked into in the year to June 2016 compared to the previous year.
But traditional favourites cereals and toast are struggling.
AHDB’s latest consumer insight article explores current breakfast trends, analysing data from Kantar, The Grocer, IRI and NPD Crest.
In the year up to 19 June, there was a 15.6 per cent increase in the number of breakfasts carried out from the home and growth in sales of cereal and fruit bars (up to 2.7 per cent) and breakfast biscuits (up 6.2 per cent), compared to the previous year. Sales of breakfast drinks, a relative newcomer to the market that provide a complete breakfast in a bottle, grew by 73.5% to more than £14m.
Baked goods such as crumpets and pastries are also appealing to consumers, making an appearance in 10 per cent more breakfasts in the year to 21 May than the year before. Similarly, cooked options have seen a surge in popularity, up nearly 30 per cent in the last two years, with bacon and sausages featuring in meals more frequently.
Eating out and takeaway breakfasts are also performing well, having grown 17.5 per cent over the last five years, partly as a result of promotions and meal deals aimed at those in a hurry.
AHDB analyst Katherine Jack said: “Out-of-home breakfasts are definitely a growing area, appealing to increasingly time-poor consumers who are willing to spend more for the sake of convenience.
“It’s also encouraging to see that fewer people are skipping breakfast overall, perhaps because manufacturers, retailers and food service outlets are developing products and promotions that make breakfast less a chore and more a pleasure.”
AHDB’s annual Breakfast Week campaign aims to motivate people to eat breakfast by highlighting its importance in a healthy lifestyle, as part of its work to support farmers and producers.