British breakfast is a booming business

Corresponding with Farmhouse Breakfast Week, new research reveals that British consumers spend about £28 each a year on breakfast cereals.

The research from Mintel’s Global Market Navigator reveals that our nation spent a total of £1.8bn on breakfast cereal last year, up from £1.7bn in 2008. Mintel estimates that this figure will grow to £2.2bn by 2014.
The study found that around 87% of adults eat cold breakfast cereal on at least a daily basis. However, for 6% of adults it is more than just a breakfast staple, and is consumed at other times of the day as well.
Children’s eating habits​
While the figures for adults look good, concern has risen in recent years about the increasing number of children skipping breakfast, with potentially negative effects on their dietary intake and balance.
Food Manufacture​ is running a Food for Kids​ conference in London on March 9, which will address the thorny issues surrounding the formulation and development of food specifically targeted at young consumers. Mintel will present a paper at the conference on market trends. For full programme details of Food for Kids​, click on the following link​.
According to Mintel’s latest research into breakfast consumption patterns, cereal bars and hot cereals are also doing quite well, worth £310M and £103M respectively. Ready-to-eat cereals make up the biggest proportion of the UK market (76%), with consumers spending £1.3bn on them in 2008.
Bacon is the Brit’s favourite breakfast​
On the cooked breakfast front, the research showed that bacon gets our taste buds sizzling and is the nation’s favourite breakfast ingredient. Around £18 a head was spent on bacon last year. Eggs come next, with Brits spending £10 annually, while £9 is spent on sausages and £5 on canned beans.
Diana Nhan, Global Market Navigator analyst at Mintel, said: “As Farmhouse Breakfast Week begins, it’s a positive endorsement to find us Brits are taking breakfast seriously and proving it by our ongoing spend on cereals.
“In addition, several factors will continue to push the value of breakfast cereals upwards. Consumers have moved away from buying breakfast from coffee shops or sandwich outlets during the economic difficulties of the past year, opting instead for eating cereals at home or at the office. Cereals can also represent a cheap meal option, replacing ready meals or other foods for lunch or dinner for example.”