Breakfast by the Numbers

R&I’s 2008 New American Diner Study yields a wealth of data about consumers’ breakfast behaviors. Following are some of the study’s insights into the who, what, where and when of away-from-home morn-ing dining.

By Christine LaFave, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 4/9/2008

Among all demographic groups studied, who…

…is most likely to get breakfast at or from a full-service or fast-food restaurant on the weekend?

• Answer: Hispanic diners, 50.5% of whom say they always or often get a restaurant breakfast on the weekend. In second place: Gen Y (26 and younger), with 46% saying they always or often do the same.

…is the strongest proponent of restaurant breakfasts on weekdays?

• Answer: It’s a virtual tie—31.1% to 31.5% of Gen Y, Asian, black and Hispanic diners say they always or often eat a restaurant breakfast on weekdays. White diners had an always/often response rate of just 15%.

…is most likely to report always or often eating breakfast at home on weekdays?

• Answer: Mature (61 or older) diners (80.8%). Least likely? Black and Asian diners (54.1% and 54.7%, respectively).

…is most likely to report always or often getting a takeout or drive-thru breakfast when eating breakfast away from home on weekdays?

• Answer: Gen Y (34.9%), followed by black diners (32.4%) and diners with a household income of less than $20,000 (30.6%).

AGE GAP
31.3% of Gen Y diners say they always or often eat a restaurant breakfast on weekdays, versus 8.1% of matures who say they do the same.

WESTERN WAYS
Among diners in all regions, Western diners are most likely to say they always or often eat breakfast at home on weekdays—68.5% say they do. But they also are most likely to say they always or often get a restaurant breakfast on the weekend (36.2%).

GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED ENGLISH MUFFINS
Among respondents who eat breakfast away from home on weekdays, 58.5% say they order a breakfast sandwich, making breakfast sandwiches the No. 1 weekday breakfast item, ahead of second-place coffee (47.6%) and third-place pancakes/waffles/French toast (37.5%). Entering the breakfast-sandwich fray for April: Panera Bread’s grilled breakfast sandwiches (all-natural egg with Vermont white Cheddar cheese and optional bacon or sausage on ciabatta bread) and Burger King’s Cheesy Bacon BK Wrapper (eggs, crispy bacon, hash browns, American cheese and a smoky cheese sauce in a flour tortilla, r.).