Consumers are increasingly buying breakfast out of the home but restaurants are missing out as the public opts for grab-and-go items instead, new research has found.

Figures complied by consultancy Horizons show that over the past five years there has been a 10% increase in breakfast sales, with sales up from 105 million in 2002 to 115 million in 2007.

However, sales of breakfasts at restaurants have remained static at 65 million as consumers instead grab breakfast on the go with fast food chains and coffee shops the main beneficiaries.

Peter Backman, managing director of Horizons, said: “Worldwide, breakfast sales account for a large percentage of McDonald’s turnover, with other chains, particularly the coffee operators, giving the fast food giant a run for their money with their own breakfast offering.”

However Backman added: “UK foodservice operators are also beginning to exploit the opportunity breakfast sales offer, including Café Rouge and JD Wetherspoon.”

Backman said that as economic times got tougher due to the credit crunch it was likely more and more operators would follow suit and try to capture some of the growing breakfast market.

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By Kerstin Kühn

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