Breakfast… Sandwiched Between Growth & More Growth

Breakfast Sandwich orders have hit an all-time high and there’s no sign of consumer demand dropping any time soon. According to The NPD Group, consumers ordered nearly 3.5 Billion Breakfast Sandwiches in the past year. In fact, since 2014, consumers increased their Breakfast Sandwich orders by a whopping 17% outpacing overall industry traffic growth (+11%) by nearly two times.

Clearly, many restaurants are winning with Breakfast Sandwiches and part of the growth is coming from more All-Day Breakfast programs. However, many restaurants have also grown through Breakfast Sandwich innovation.

Sandwich Ingredients to Consider

Below are some tips to keep in mind when building your own Breakfast Sandwich options:

• Many consumers are craving new, on-trend flavors. Creating seasonal or limited-time-offers peak consumers’ curiosity and inspire them to visit you more often. For example, alternate carriers are growing on menus. In fact, French Toast as a breakfast sandwich carrier grew 6% on menus this year.
• Although most consumers visit restaurants for indulgent options, more consumers are expecting better-for-you options. Egg Whites are a perfect solution and give health-conscience consumers permission to visit more often.
• 51% of Millennials and 43% of Gen Z guests want to see more ethnic flavors offered at breakfast. Think beyond Salsa which is already commonly featured on breakfast menus. Sriracha and Aioli are growing flavors on breakfast menus and can easily be incorporated into Breakfast Sandwiches.
• New formats in breakfast handhelds are also emerging quickly. Breakfast Tacos grew 7% on menus over a year ago; Breakfast Burritos/Wraps grew 5%.

Want to learn more about “Wich” Build is Right for Your Menu?

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Source: The NPD Group, CREST 2019; Datassential Menu Trends 2019; Mintel Breakfast Report 2018