Americans are redefining how they eat breakfast

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — A new NPD Group study says today's American breakfast is breaking away from the traditional plate with eggs, bacon or sausage, toast and hash browns served with a cup of orange juice, freshly brewed coffee or milk. We might indulge in this type of big breakfast occasionally, but it's not the way most Americans eat every day.

 

"More than half of our breakfast meals consist of just one or two items," said Dori Hickey, senior manager of product management for The NPD Group, which just released a ground-breaking new study on what Americans eat in the morning. She adds, "When we look at this by week part, we don't see a marked difference between weekdays and weekends. And over time, the number of items included in breakfast meals has fallen, from 2.46 in 1985 to 2.17 today."

 

In fact, consumers viewed only 38 percent of their breakfast meals as a "full or complete meal;" 45 percent of the time it was viewed as a "small or mini-meal," 5 percent of the time they described breakfast as more of a "snack," and 11 percent of the time it was a beverage-only situation.

 

Smaller and more portable mini-meals are conducive to today's hectic lifestyles and convenience continues to be a driving factor behind people's meal and snack choices. Many of the morning food and beverage products available today are quick, easy and portable, requiring only enough effort to simply open up a package.

 

Taste preferences and familiarity are even more important than convenience as drivers of morning meal and snack choices. Consumers reported that 48 percent chose to eat/drink what they did because the items they chose were their favorites/what they liked and 48 percent said it was part of their morning routine.