Protein pushes breakfast bonanza

For years, the health-and-wellness and food industries have been bringing Americans back to a traditional mindset — the decades-old foundational thought that eating a good breakfast can jumpstart the day and in some ways, assist with healthy goals in individual consumers.

As consumers’ lives have become more hectic and busy over the last couple decades,  breakfast has been the whipping boy, losing out to getting more sleep and getting out the door. For years, “quick” breakfast options were the talk of the innovative world. Anything that made breakfast faster — with health benefits sometimes optional — made sense in the consumer world, and processors across the food segments responded. Bacon and eggs, hot cereal, omelettes and even a simple bowl of cold cereal were perceived as taking too much prep and consumption time, and they were on the outs.

However, in recent years, the traditional, sit-down breakfast has made a bit more of a comeback, and even the fast-paced consumers are seeing the benefits of eating a more wholesome, fulfilling breakfast — often centered around protein — is crucial to minimizing caloric intake throughout the rest of the day. Obviously, this had dragged the animal-protein industry right into the heart of the innovation circle, and processors have responded, creating products that capitalize on the demand for protein but also try to address that time-starved consumer’s needs through convenience.

In our August issue, we spoke with several market analysts and trend watchers about breakfast trends. Breakfast protein is surging again, and you can read about it here: http://bit.ly/goodmorningNP