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Pizza: Maybe it's not just for lunch and dinner anymore

On the surface a new study on breakfast eating trends would seem of no interest to pizza restaurateurs, but are the findings worth a second look even in this food service category?

May 24, 2016 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

OK, stay with me here. I promise it could pay off even for restaurants whose business revolves mainly around pizza. A new study reveals that when it comes to breakfast, a growing percentage of people in the U.S. claim that they don't eat it as meal as much as a snack. In fact, the report from research firm Packaged Facts shows that Americans are continuing to gravitate toward a snacking lifestyle, as opposed to one ruled by the three square daily meals of our parents and grandparents .

The  study, Breakfast: Retail Market Trends and Opportunities in the U.S., shows that about one quarter (24 percent) of consumers said they snack instead of having a full meal in the morning. The research showed that this trend is "most pronounced for younger adults and children."

"As restaurant brands such as Denny's have long known, and as McDonald's success with all-day breakfast cements, foods traditionally associated with the breakfast day-part can also find success during other parts of the day and/or as a snack," says Packaged Facts Research Director David Sprinkle. 

So how does this translate for pizza restaurateurs? 

Pizza restaurateurs have naturally gravitated toward the lunch and dinner crowds. But are there opportunities for pizza restaurateurs for breakfast? Perhaps a change of ingredients or development of another product that focuses on portability for delivery to the increasing number of corporate "breakfast meetings"? Here are additional findings of the breakfast study about food choices that Americans are already incorporate in this breakfast-as-snack category.

For instance, yogurt in all its forms — from smoothie ingredient and cereal add-in to stand-alone take-along snack, will likely continue to draw consumers, the study said. The research found that 39 percent of adults snack on yogurt and 44 percent eat it for breakfast, according to a synopsis of study findings.

Two of the three other snack-or-meal winners from the study include: 

• bacon (43 percent ate for breakfast and 16 percent snacked on it); and
• pancakes and French toast (33 percent ate one of these for breakfast, while 13 percent snacked on them).

And of particular applicability to pizza restaurateurs is the study finding that there also appears to be a lot of room for growth in this category. So restaurateurs who can come up with clever ways to package attractive foods with enhanced portability and reduced preparation requirements might stand to gain business.

As an example, the study authors said that products such as Kellogg's grab-and-go cups — and especially the brand’s “To Go” breakfast mixes in single-serve resealable pouches that fit car cup-holders — were all produced to be eaten without milk. The pouches even contain larger chunks than the traditional cereals to be more like snacks than ingredients that mix with milk.

Pizza restaurateurs already have the idea of easily delivered, snackable food nailed down. If you've ever considered the breakfast market as a possibility for new menu items and more business, perhaps now is the time to act. Or if you've already taken action to tap into this area of food service, please call, email or even send us a tweet here at Pizza Marketplace to tell us about your experience so far. 

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.