One of our missions at American Egg Board is to inform and educate our readers about the latest research on Quick Serve Restaurants (QSR) and breakfast.  Our association with Mintel has provided us with extremely beneficial information about consumers’ buying habits, their need states, and the qualities they look for from QSRs.

Following you will find some information designed to pique your interest and hopefully provide some insights into the breakfast daypart.  Let us know if you like this approach and we’ll look to communicate more information in future blogs.

Still the most important meal of the day

•  Nutritionists insist that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and Mintel finds that American have bought into that thinking.

QSR breakfast has as many visitors as dinner

•  Mintel finds that almost as many consumers visited a QSR for breakfast (63%) as did for dinner (65%) in the past month. Lunch remains the busiest daypart (72%).

Who doesn’t like breakfast all day?

•  All-day breakfast leads the list of items respondents would like to see more of on QSR menus (39%) up from 36% in last year’s survey. Women (41%) and those aged 18-24 (51%) would most like to see all-day breakfast.

The breakfast sandwich is the most popular breakfast item

•  Breakfast sandwiches are the fourth-most-commonly ordered QSR menu item, Mintel finds, indicating how important they have become for many quick-service chains.

•  Looking at the top dishes on QSR menus, breakfast sandwiches remain the leader and have increased 10% in the past 10 years.

• Breakfast sandwiches have become QSR staples. They are regularly ordered by 25% of men and 27% of women.

QSRs have additional opportunities to build breakfast sales

•  Wendy’s will join the ranks of QSRs serving breakfast next year. In an Aug.11, 2011, quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts, Wendy’s president-CEO Roland Smith said that “breakfast is a growing daypart in the QSR business that we have not participated in, and that’s a big opportunity for us. And also, as we get into breakfast, it expands the ability for us to get into other dayparts like 24 hours, which some of our competitors have done.”

•  More than one third (36%) would like to see a greater number of healthier menu options, something they are likely to see as QSRs adjust menus in preparation for upcoming calorie disclosure laws.

•  Mintel has forecast a 4.1% increase in restaurant breakfast sales this year.

Source: Mintel, Quick Service Restaurants – US; September 2011

Egg sandwiches have a long history. McDonald’s launched the Egg McMuffin nationally in1975 and now offers egg meals on biscuits, pancakes and burritos. Burger King, which added breakfast in 1979, also expanded its breakfast lineup over the years. Some of the newer items include the BK Breakfast Ciabatta Club Sandwich, which features eggs, fresh tomatoes, ham, bacon, American cheese and smoky tomato sauce on a toasted whole grain Ciabatta bun, for $2.89. There’s also the BK Breakfast Value Menu, which includes the BK Breakfast Muffin Sandwich of sausage, a fluffy egg and melted cheese in an English muffin, for $1.00.

Subway also offers a fluffy egg on its Egg & Cheese sandwich, an omelet with American and Monterey Jack cheeses, and a choice of veggies and sauces, on a toasted bun. The chain also offers other egg sandwiches such as Black Forest Ham, Egg and Cheese, an omelet with Black Forest ham, American and Monterey Cheddar cheeses, toasted and topped with veggies and sauces. It’s also available with an Egg White Omelet.

Other chains also have egg white sandwiches. Einstein Bros. Bagels offers Egg White Bagel Thin Breakfast Sandwiches and new Egg White Bagel Thin Breakfast Panini. Minneapolis-based Caribou Coffee offers the Egg White Turkey and Bacon Daybreaker, which is turkey bacon, egg whites, Swiss cheese and spinach Florentine spread on a toasted whole wheat brioche roll.

The egg white offerings may satisfy consumers’ desire for better-for-you foods. According to Chicago-based research firm Mintel, 66% of restaurant-goers say they are interested in healthier breakfast options.

Scott Davis, executive vice president and chief concept officer for Panera Bread, says the bakery-cafe started offering egg sandwiches in 2008. The company developed a way to cook a fresh cracked egg on a small countertop grill. That didn’t add much in labor costs, because the bakery cafes are open for lunch, too. “Most of the labor is already there. They were doing other things, getting the lunch line ready, “Davis says.

The first wave of Panera’s egg sandwiches had Ciabatta bread, bacon and Vermont White Cheddar. The next wave was the bagel sandwiches; the newest among those is the Steak & Egg, seared top sirloin, all-natural egg, Vermont white Cheddar on a sweet onion and poppy seed bagel. The sandwiches start at around $3.50. The nearly 1,500-unit chain is testing a Mediterranean Egg White sandwich.

Eggfast, a quick service eatery in Columbus, Ohio, offers several egg sandwiches. “When it comes to breakfast fare, consumers are seeking value and a varied menu,” says Pete Nowak, Eggfast’s founder and chief executive officer. “We sell a few varieties of egg white flatbreads that incorporate fresh pico de gallo salsa as well as options for turkey sausage and ham.” He adds that one of Eggfast’s top sellers is the Twelfth Avenue, an eggs, cheese and bacon sandwich on maple French toast.

Other restaurant companies are looking at adding egg sandwiches. Jim Burke, president of Jimmy’s Egg, with 27 locations in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas, says egg sandwiches are in his research and development pipeline. “My 24-year-old son, who is involved in the business, told me, ‘Hey, everybody my age eats breakfast sandwiches,”‘ Burke says. “We definitely feel like we’ve got to have a couple on the menu.”

Source: Nation’s Restaurant News, August 2011