‘Breakfastarians’ change US fast food chains

CALL IT THE rise of the “breakfastarians” – the dining tribe that craves breakfast food morning, noon and night.

Sales of morning standards such as coffee, pancakes and doughnuts are feeding US restaurant traffic growth, outpacing lunch and dinner items.

The trend is being driven by an improving US job market, with more Americans on the go in the morning and willing to spend on meals outside the home.

It has prompted companies from fast-food leader McDonald’s to North Carolinabased buffet chain Golden Corral to experiment with an all-day breakfast.

They are joining chains like Denny’s, Ihop, Jack in the Box and Sonic, which for years have offered breakfast anytime.

Taco Bell took the morning plunge about a year ago and breakfast now accounts for 7 percent of sales.

Dunkin’ Donuts sells breakfast sandwiches all day and says they are a growth driver.

“When people work, they eat out more often. Fast-food chains are the first to benefit because (people entering or returning to the workforce) are going to go for the more affordable stuff,” said Malcolm Knapp, whose Knapp-Track service keeps tabs on restaurant sales and guest counts.

“It’s hard to screw up breakfast… everything goes well with bacon,” he added.

Gains

Breakfast visits were up 4 percent for the year ended May, largely due to gains at fast-food chains, while lunch and dinner visits were flat, according to research firm NPD Group.

There is no official tally of how many Americans consider themselves breakfastarians, a term that popped up on the internet a few years ago and was embraced by Ihop ads.

Meanwhile, a 2014 survey by the National Restaurant Association showed that 72 percent of US adults wished restaurants would offer breakfast items all day.

The trend has been on the rise since 2011, and has been a bright spot for big national chains. McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Panera Bread recently highlighted the strength of breakfast sales in their quarterly reports.

When a company’s breakfast business reached scale, it could be very profitable, Sanford Bernstein analyst Sara Senatore said.

She estimates that breakfast accounts for about 25 percent of McDonald’s sales and roughly 40 percent of profit in the US.

Still, not every chain will win at breakfast.

“Consumers are generally reluctant to make changes to their morning routine,” Senatore said. Beyond that, egg prices have soared since a US bird flu outbreak forced producers to cull millions of chickens.

Starbucks said it got a sales bump from its bakery expansion, new drinks like the “flat white”, an Australian import made with whole milk and more concentrated espresso.

Panera’s breakfast business grew faster than lunch and dinner during the latest quarter, but breakfast sales came with a lower margin.

McDonald’s, which dominates the fast-food breakfast category and is working to end a US sales slump that has persisted for more than a year, said its breakfast business had proven resilient to intense competition in the industry. – Reuters

When a company’s breakfast business gets to scale, it can be very profitable, says analyst.