Diner Demographics: Breakfast’s Best Bet

Hispanic consumers are strong morning-meal enthusiasts.

By Scott Hume, Editor-in-Chief -- Restaurants & Institutions, 3/1/2008

Although tortilla-wrapped sandwiches find interest among a variety of ethnic groups, McDonald’s national introduction of the McSkillet Burrito is tacit acknowledgement not only that breakfast has the greatest growth potential of any menu daypart but also that Hispanics account for a significant share of morning customer traffic.

R&I’s 2008 New American Diner Study finds that 8.5% of Hispanic consumers say they always eat breakfast away from home on weekdays. More than one-fifth, 22.9%, say they often do. Both percentages are significantly above the averages for non-Hispanic consumers (3.9% of whom always eat breakfast out, 14.3% often do).

On weekends, the contrast is even more pronounced, with more than half (50.5%) of Hispanic consumers indicating they always or often eat breakfast away from home. That compares with 30.7% of non-Hispanic adults.

Time to Clean Up

Hispanic consumers who say they frequently buy breakfast on weekdays are more likely than members of other ethnic groups to view the meal as a social occasion. Many Hispanics (40.7%) say their weekday breakfasts always or often involve dining with two or more others in a restaurant. Only 25.5% of non-Hispanic adults say their breakfasts are enjoyed in that manner.

But Hispanic consumers also are above-average purchasers of takeout breakfasts eaten in a car (28.9% of Hispanic breakfast buyers say they always or often do so) or taken to work (29.6%).

Why do Hispanic adults who buy breakfast away from home say they do so? A significant percentage (35.2%) say it allows them to use the convenience of a drive-thru window, although an equal percentage (35.1%) say they simply don’t have time to prepare breakfast and clean up the kitchen in the morning.

Like members of all other ethnic groups, Hispanics cite breakfast sandwiches and coffee as their top morning selections.

Asked what would make them more likely to purchase breakfast away from home on weekdays, 55.8% of Hispanic adults say lower prices would have the most influence (compared with 42.3% of non-Hispanic consumers). Greater availability of drive-thru service would persuade 20.9% of Hispanics to purchase breakfast more often.