On-the-go breakfast items: coming to a restaurant near you

On-the-go breakfast will become an important growth opportunity for restaurants, as shown by London restaurant Polpo’s launch of a takeaway breakfast menu for the first time on May the 15^th. This signals a shift in the breakfast market to increased novelty and quality, and away from competition based only on convenience and price. On-the-go breakfast ranges, previously largely consisting of coffee and dairy-based drinks, will welcome a growing range of innovative items taking inspiration from international cuisines, such as Polpo’s Venetian pastries.

It’s not news that time-pressed consumers are looking for quicker breakfasts in the morning. Breakfast, and in particular coffee, has been a big success story for McDonalds in recent years. Retail brands have also targeted this, with the launch of breakfast drinks such as Up&Go and Weetabix’s “On the Go” range.

The success of the convenience breakfast market means that it will become more crowded, as more foodservice and retail brands move into this space. As a result brands need to offer more than just convenience and value; brands will also be able to compete on novelty and quality. This creates space for up-market restaurants such as Polpo to push into the on-the-go breakfast market.

GlobalData research in 2016 found that 10% of consumers worldwide don’t eat breakfast in the morning, and 52% of consumers spend less than 15 minutes. This behaviour is more prevalent in the UK: 12% of consumers don’t eat breakfast, and 60% of consumers spend less than 15 minutes. This means that there is a large audience for new and exciting breakfast items that can be quickly purchased and consumed.

Polpo’s breakfast takeaway menu focuses on fritoles, a traditional Venetian pastry. This shows how the variety of on-the-go breakfast options will expand as premium foodservice players move into the market. Consumers should be excited – a new wave of innovative, unusual and quick breakfast items are on the way.