Think a restaurant breakfast is just an Egg McMuffin consumed mid-commute? Think again. Breakfast is being reinvented chefs and industry innovators, many of whom are interested in offering an alternative to the typical diner or quick-serve-restaurant morning meal. Though the majority of breakfast business is done on the go, these trendsetters are still making an impact, serving upgraded breakfast sandwiches and mixing organic ingredients and global flavors into the most important meal of the day.
Fact is, breakfast isn’t just hot: it’s cold, eaten in the form of whole grain cereal and customized granola; it’s gourmet, made into elaborate artisan breakfast sandwiches; it’s a beverage, served all day in the guise of salad with poached eggs and bacon or dessert waffles. Breakfast is so much more than it used to be—and it’s more popular than ever in foodservice, despite the economic downturn.
Fierce competition in every sector for the breakfast dollar is pushing innovation in today’s breakfast foods, along with a number of key drivers exemplified in the report’s trend profiles:
- Artisan Breakfast: These traditional breakfast dishes are made by hand, using the freshest ingredients and incorporating global flavor twists.
- Third Wave Coffee: Coffee enthusiasts are going beyond espresso to reinvent this ancient caffeinated beverage, creating a superlative cup of Joe that’s brewed with care from only the best beans.
- New Whole Grains: As consumers are looking for gluten-free alternatives and better-tasting, healthful breakfast options, whole grain cereals and breakfast pastry are diversifying beyond whole wheat.
- Waffles Gone Wild: Waffles can be used as a carrier or simply solo, and are taking on new savory and sweet forms everywhere from fine dining to street food.
- Breakfast Pizza: America’s favorite savory pie gets a breakfast twist, topped with ingredients such as eggs, bacon--and even fruit!
- Eggs All Day: Eggs are a flexible protein that can be healthful or decadent, down-home or gourmet, and they’re being adapted for all dayparts by magazines for home cooks.
- Breakfast in a Bowl: Breakfast foods ranging from the savory to the sweet, combined together in a bowl for a portable, convenient, one-size-fits-all breakfast.
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