To find out where the rubber meets the road, CSP talked with two retailers about what’s moving on their breakfast menus. Up first: Carlos Acevedo, culinary innovation and research chef for Yesway, Des Moines, Iowa
Core breakfast customer: “About a third of our customers eat breakfast out, while about half buy coffee. … A significant segment of those grab-and-go breakfast buyers also seize the chance to snatch a convenient lunch for the day.”
Core breakfast items: “Coffee is king. … Grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches, which account for 37% of our sandwich sales, remain essential, as are gourmet bakery items like doughnuts and cupcakes. … One of our more successful strategies is to give customers as many munchie choices as possible to complement their coffee purchases. ... Meanwhile, the roller grill has proven to be a versatile breakfast resource.”
Unique morning market-basket habits: “The line between breakfast and lunch has virtually imploded. Pizza or burgers for breakfast? Why not? Roller-grill breakfast options? You bet. ... Millennials continue to drive the move toward snacking, and it seems to be impacting breakfast. We see this with the surge of popularity in grab-and-go-cup purchases, such as doughnut holes and prepared fruit.”
"Pizza or burgers for breakfast? Why not? Roller-grill breakfast options? You bet."