Food Genius released its most recent industry report, “Breakfast Insights of Champions: Menu Trends and Insights.” Breakfast is widely considered to be the most important meal of the day and has recently gained traction with notable breakfast menu rollouts from major chain restaurants such as Taco Bell and White Castle. This report examines the landscape of breakfast with insights on chain and independent restaurants, as well as the influences of healthy and ethnic flavors within the breakfast segment.

“We see significant opportunities for operators, both independents and chains, around the breakfast day part,” says Food Genius CEO, Justin Massa. “While the [quick-serve] breakfast market is becoming saturated, there is certainly opportunity for casual and family dining restaurants to expand into breakfast.” 

Massa points out a few areas of opportunity. “For those already offering breakfast, exploring both healthy menu items and Latin American influences could be just the trick for rejuvenating lagging sales. While both are growing with breakfast, their growth is lagging behind lunch and dinner meal parts,” Massa says.

The report found breakfast is available at 49 percent of restaurant locations nationwide. Availability of breakfast has been steadily increasing over the past year, with a 5 percentage point increase in the number of locations offering breakfast, representing a 13 percent relative growth in just 9 months. Approximately one in three chains offer breakfast, while only one in five independents offer breakfast. The quick-serve segment is the most over-represented market in breakfast, while casual-dining and upscale segments are significantly under-represented.

“Breakfast Insights of Champions: Menu Trends and Insights” highlights data sourced from Q1’14 Food Genius Reports, an insights platform and data dashboard currently tracking across the U.S.