Advertisement “When you have people walking in with a competitor’s bag, it tells you we have a need to fill,” said Cheryl Garner, division food manager for the cafe chain’s regional headquarters in Huntington Beach, Calif.
That led to the launch of five $2.95 breakfast sandwiches in 40 Starbucks cafes in Orange and Los Angeles counties this year. The items, ranging from Eggs Florentine to a reduced-fat turkey bacon sandwich, are now in 700 stores and have become a popular grab-and-go item for busy java lovers, Garner said.
“We’ve had people flat out tell us, ‘You’re saving me a stop,’” she said. Industry experts say Starbucks and other quick-serve chains are waking up and noticing the $40 billion morning grub market — a category dominated for years by burger giant McDonald’s. Many are trying to grab share by introducing funky items including egg and bacon stuffed tacos and cheesy tater tots.
Some also are opening earlier and providing breakfast all day, including Starbucks.
“We get a good chunk of (breakfast) business in the afternoon and evening,” Garner said. “People want breakfast all day, and that’s been a competitive edge for us.”
Still, breakfast is a tough sell, some analysts say.
While many people like variety for lunch and dinner, most consumers “don’t change breakfast habits very readily,” said Bob Sandelman, president of Sandelman & Associates in San Clemente.
So while the category can lead to larger overall food sales, it’s not necessarily a giant growth category, he said. In a 2006 poll conducted by his firm, Sandelman said 11 percent of fast food eaters bought meals at breakfast. That figure was up only 1 percent from the year before.
Fast food “is still a lunch and dinner business,” Sandelman said. Yet he and other industry experts said many chains are focusing on breakfast by trying to capture eaters at rival drive-throughs.
Take Burger King.
The nation’s No. 2 burger chain introduced the industry’s first-ever Breakfast Value Menu featuring 10 items for $1. The strategy was employed this year to lure time-starved morning eaters, the company said.
“We want to grab our fair share and more,” said John Schaufelberger, Burger King’s vice president of product marketing and innovation.
Here’s a closer look at what fast-food chains are doing in the morning:
Taco Bell
The Irvine, Calif.-based Mexican fast food chain is thinking way Outside the Bun these days, testing eight new breakfast items in four regions: Fresno, Calif., Nebraska, Ohio and Arizona. It’s unclear which items will earn a permanent spot on menus across the nation, company spokesman Rob Poetsch said.
New: Bacon and Egg taco, a Sausage and Bacon Grilled Stuft Burrito, a Guacamole Bacon Grilled Stuft Burrito, a Bacon and Egg Crunch Wrap, Cinnamon Toastadas, Southwest Sausage Burrito, Egg, Bean and Cheese Burrito, Bell Breakfast Potatoes and Tropicana orange juice.
Starbucks
About 700 cafes in Southern California serve the Seattle chain’s line of five breakfast sandwiches. Because cafes are equipped with ovens, customers can now get bagels and certain pastries warmed.
New sandwiches: Peppered bacon, egg and natural, aged cheddar cheese; Black Forest ham, egg and cheddar; turkey bacon, cholesterol free egg and reduced fat cheese; Eggs Florentine with baby spinach, egg, havarti cheese and herb spread. (All served on a toasted English muffin.)
Burger King
The nation’s No. 2 burger joint broke new ground this year by introducing a $1 Breakfast Value Menu. Executive Schaufelberger said the revamped breakfast menu has helped the chain’s breakfast business grow. He declined to give specific sales data. “Consumers are basically building their perfect breakfast” with the 10-item value menu, he said.
New: The BK Breakfast Value Menu features Cheesy tots, three-piece French Toast Sticks, Sausage Biscuit, small hash browns, Cini-minis, small coffee, milk, orange juice, soft drink, Hamlette sandwich.
Wendy’s
After exiting breakfast in the mid-1980s, Wendy’s announced plans in late June to get serious about breakfast again. The chain plans to offer breakfast in 650 restaurants by the end of August, expanding from 160 restaurants currently testing breakfast products.
New: A proprietary premium Folgers blend; Buttermilk Frescuit, a square biscuit with egg, cheese and choice of sausage, bacon or ham; Steak and Egg Breakfast Sandwich; Big Breakfast Sandwich, Grande Breakfast Burrito; and French Toast Sticks. Some units offer value breakfast items.
McDonald’s
The Golden Arches is the one to beat at breakfast, according to industry experts. Since introducing the famed Egg McMuffin in 1973, McDonald’s has dominated the fast-food breakfast category for more than 30 years. Breakfast accounts for 30 percent of the chain’s annual sales. However, McDonald’s has not introduced a new breakfast food since it launched the McGriddle in 2003, said company spokeswoman Danya Proud. But “stay tuned” because that could change, she added.
Proud also debunked industry rumors that McDonald’s plans to serve breakfast all day. For the near future, she said breakfast will remain a morning-only offering.
Morning market’s demands change depending on the day
What consumers look for in breakfast depends on the occasion and time of the week. During the week, convenience and portability play a key role for consumers. On weekends, quality, variety and a friendly restaurant atmosphere are important factors for diners.
64% — Increase in servings of breakfast foods over the past five years
$40 billion — Restaurant breakfast sales in 2006
73% — Percentage of weekday breakfast eaters who ordered a breakfast sandwich in 2007, up from 60 percent two years ago.
