Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, not just for the average American consumer, but also for the restaurant industry nationwide, according to Foodservice Breakfast Trends in the U.S., Second Edition, a new report from market research publisher Packaged Facts.

The breakfast daypart continues to drive sales at limited-service restaurants and full-service restaurants alike. Packaged Facts estimates that restaurant breakfast sales will reach $47 billion in 2013, up 5 percent from 2012. Additionally, sales are forecast to rise more than 5 percent in both 2014 and 2015.

Outstripping the lunch, dinner, and snack dayparts, per capita spending on the breakfast daypart increased almost 8 percent during 2007–2012. Limited-service breakfast grew at more than double the rate (11 percent) of full-service breakfast (5 percent), according to Packaged Facts research director, David Sprinkle, due to a mixture of consumer trade down, increasing limited-service breakfast availability and variety, and the needs of on-the-go consumers. Furthermore, limited-service restaurants—which account for two-thirds of total restaurant breakfast sales—are benefitting from menu item innovation hitting healthfulness, indulgence, and quality notes, in addition to innovation in the tea and juice platform, among other factors.

Not to be completely outshone, full-service breakfast is in the midst of a rebound.  Segment gains indicate that though full-service restaurant may continue to struggle with pricing, they have generally recovered from steep recession-driven traffic declines. In addition, many family restaurant chains have found success in experimenting with take out and portable menu options.