New consumer research from food and grocery think tank IGD shows that the breakfast market offers great opportunities for increasing fruit consumption.
Breakfast: The Main Meal of the Day found that 81 per cent of people are eating their breakfast at home on a weekday, but only 18 per cent enjoy it. IGD found that shoppers tend to stick to the same foods each day. Although breakfast items are often an essential component of the weekly shopping basket, little thought is given to what these items are, as long as there is something at home to eat for breakfast.
Shoppers told IGD that they want breakfast to be simple, both in format and in taste. Some 40 per cent spend 10 minutes or less preparing and eating breakfast and many eat on-the-go at home - i.e. as they are getting ready, making the kids’ lunch etc. They want convenience, variety and new ideas.
About nine per cent of the shoppers IGD spoke to already eat fruit for breakfast, but the market potential is much greater. It is currently eaten as an alternative to or accompaniment for many current breakfast options. Fruit fits the need for variety, ease of preparation and portability.
Fruit has a clear association with breakfast in terms of its health benefits and most people who eat fruit at breakfast eat it for this reason. It can be easily added to cereal as a sweetener, acting as a substitute to sugar. The key is to make the connection when in store between breakfast and eating fruit. In-store and on-pack communications can help shoppers to make this link.
There is an opportunity to increase fruit consumption by applying the same convenient formats to breakfast as are associated with other meals. For example, there are prepared vegetables for main meals and this concept can be applied to fruit to target breakfasts, with on-pack branding reinforcing this.
Joanne Denney-Finch, IGD Chief Executive said; “Breakfast is still perceived as the main meal of the day, however people are sticking to the same things and few are thinking about the breakfast occasion and the meal they plan to eat when shopping. More surprisingly, most are not enjoying their breakfast. There is a huge opportunity to enhance the appeal of the breakfast occasion and create more engaged shoppers through product development and inspiration in store.
“Product development in the breakfast market must continue to focus on foods that can be prepared in a matter of minutes, create little washing up, and potentially can be eaten on the go. Fruit fits the bill perfectly and inspiration in store will be a key channel, for example fruit adds variety to cereal and can be easily cross-merchandised in store.”
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