What’s for Breakfast?

The Hottest Trends are Here

All-day breakfast is one of the hottest trends in foodservice. Whether you serve breakfast favorites just in the morning or 24/7 we want you to be tuned in to the hottest trends reported by Datassentials. If you are planning some menu additions, here are some extraordinary insights.

The BIG Winners and Losers on the Menu

For all of the chatter about healthy breakfast, the top menu items for growth are heavy in calories and big in flavor. Shrimp and grits, while on only 4% of menus, have grown by 276% in just four years. Chicken and waffles are up 237%, followed by breakfast tacos, skillet breakfasts, and breakfast pizza. The biggest losers in menu mentions include ham and eggs, as well as cereal.

Yet, healthier-positioned flatbread has been the fastest growing carrier during the period (up 107%) followed by brioche, up 104%. Toast for breakfast is down 21%.

Breakfast Sauces and Flavors

The most important flavor trend for breakfast sauces is the growth in menus that mention aioli as a condiment, up by more than 100% in the past four years. Many operators use Texas Pete^® as an ingredient to prepare their own signature spicy aioli.

Other big flavors for breakfast are mentions of basil (up 89%); mustard, up more than 50%; gravy (up 48%); and garlic (up 44%). On the sweet side of the spectrum, mentions of caramel are up nearly 40%, while jelly, raspberry, raisin, and peach are trending downward.

Bring on Biscuits, Gravy, and Pork

Americans love a hearty breakfast, and among starches, biscuits and gravy are on 13% of breakfast menus, having grown 24% in the past four years. While bacon mentions are relatively flat, mentions of pork, such as tenderloin, have grown by an amazing 72% followed by growth in chicken and turkey for breakfast.

What’s Up With Eggs?

A hand-crafted breakfast is behind the 24% increase in mentions of a skillet and eggs. Frittatas, now on nearly 12% of breakfast menus, have increased by 16%, while huevos rancheros have declined by about 4%. Among omelets, consider French-style, egg white, and Greek omelets (all up by double digits). All other styles of omelets are trending downward.

If you are looking to increase your breakfast sales, these insights into hot trends may help. Put a little Texas Pete^® Hot Sauce on those eggs and hashbrowns and you will score even more.