Breakfast is the meal most often skipped by the American consumer. Estimated at $21 billion in 2004, breakfast foods is a multifaceted market driven by consumers’ need for relatively healthful foods that are easy to prepare and eat. As consumers work longer hours and take on more family responsibilities, they are continually looking for way to save time, and this is reflected in the market patterns of breakfast food. Foods that can be eaten on the go and require little or no preparation time, like cereal bars and breakfast sandwiches, continue to do well in this market, outperforming more traditional categories like cereal and refrigerated biscuits and sweet rolls.

The recent popularity of low carb diets has also impacted sales of many breakfast food segments, like eggs and breakfast meats, and manufacturers are scrambling to produce new options to meet this consumer demand. The most significant spikes in sales come from these items as well as healthier (whole grain and leaner) products. Even the cereal segment, a long-time breakfast favorite, has shifted with the times and introduced reduced sugar varieties, and in September 2004, cereal giant General Mills announced plans to use whole grains in all of its breakfast cereals in response to consumer demands for healthier products.

This Mintel report explores the following hypothesis: “While certain categories within the retail breakfast foods market (like breakfast pastries and breads—products that consumers can easily find at their local coffeeshop) will continue to face increasing competition from outside sources, the breakfast foods category as a whole will grow as more consumers make their first meal of the day a priority. Just as convenience-driven products have experienced tremendous growth, products that meet consumers’ need for both healthy and tasty breakfast products will see the majority of success moving forward.”

This report covers sales trends in breakfast foods. For an analysis of breakfast food consumption, see Breakfast Foods Volume II: The Consumer—U.S., consumer intelligence, November 2004.