In today’s competitive foodservice environment, an enticing breakfast menu can help eateries draw a significant share of the market.

Cost, though, is a growing concern for both consumers and operators.

Before 2021, breakfast menu items hadn’t drastically increased in price annually. However, in the last two years, they rose 17.4% at the top 500 limited-service restaurant chains — and 13% within the top 500 full-service restaurant groups. More than two-thirds (67%) of operators report diners are very price sensitive during morning hours.¹

Facing higher food expenses, restaurants are trying to keep their spending in check. Carefully crafting a lineup of delectable, affordable dishes, made with versatile ingredients like pork, can help them achieve that goal — and provide diners with the array of choices they crave.

Scroll ahead for information about in-demand elements you may want to incorporate into your breakfast menu — and five delicious recipes that feature Hatfield® bacon, sausage and ham.

Infuse Items With International Flair

Two out of three consumers say they’re open to trying new global cuisines. Younger generations in particular might be intrigued by internationally influenced breakfast items.²

Gen Z members, who range from 12 to 27 years old, tend to look for new experiences and spicy dishes and ingredients. Japanese, Spanish and Korean food are the top global cuisines they wish restaurant chains would offer.³

Millennials — consumers ages 28 to 43 — also often have an affinity for foods that have traditionally been served in other countries, and say they’d like large chains to provide more Mediterranean, Japanese and Greek fare.³

Americans cook only one major type of global cuisine — Italian food — at home. Due in part to the complexity that can be involved, they instead generally order dishes that originated in a number of other countries only when they’re at a restaurant.³

For instance, consumers are three times more likely to consume Japanese cuisine and five times more likely to have Thai food away from home — presenting a potential opportunity for operators that can prepare items from those regions.³

In addition to utilizing ingredients like sriracha in breakfast foods, proteins with international flair (such as carnitas and barbacoa) can be used in dishes — an approach that’s popped up at trendy spots like Monstera, a Washington, D.C., pop-up that serves a breakfast burrito stuffed with halal beef that’s been wrapped in avocado leaves and braised for eight hours.^{4, 5}

Make Meat the Main Focus

Nearly half of U.S. adults (49%) vowed to eat more protein this year.⁶

While eggs are the most common source that’s found in restaurant breakfast items, meat actually has a heftier protein content, providing, per gram, roughly one-fifth of a gram of complete protein, compared to eggs’ one-eighth of a gram.⁷

To cost-effectively diversify their menu with options that could help customers feel full longer, in lieu of purchasing additional ingredients for complex, new meat-oriented dishes, operators can incorporate bacon, sausage and ham — the second, third and fourth most popular proteins used in restaurant breakfast items — in different ways.⁸

Chain restaurants are serving inventive takes on classic breakfast proteins. For example, andouille sausage and flavored bacon can add pizzazz to a breakfast meal, and are appearing in fine dining establishments and other locations.8

Lean Into Healthy Handhelds 

Half the companies that have implemented a return-to-office mandate since 2021 now require employees to be in the office four to five days per week, and a number of these employees appear to be picking up something to eat on the way.⁹

Nearly half of U.S. adults (46%) order breakfast from a fast-food establishment at least one to three times a month — making portability a key menu consideration.¹⁰

Quick-service restaurants have honed in on breakfast-related business possibilities in recent months, upping their PR efforts and introducing new menu items.

Burger King began testing a Breakfast Grill’wich Sandwich in November, made with eggs, American cheese and bacon, sausage or Black Forest ham; in March, McDonald’s announced it would begin selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts in restaurants later this year.^{11, 12}

In February, Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner said the chain planned to use $55 million worth of incremental advertising to promote its breakfast options in the U.S. and Canada in 2024 and 2025.¹³

The burger chain, which began serving breakfast in 2020, also added a line of cold-brewed coffee drinks made using its Frosty dessert’s cream base in 2023 — and earlier this year debuted a $3 deal featuring seasoned potatoes and a bacon or sausage egg-and-cheese English muffin sandwich.^{14, 15, 16}

According to Tanner, breakfast helped drive a 0.6% increase in U.S. same-store sales in the second quarter of 2024, despite slower growth during other dayparts.¹⁴

Fast-food breakfast choices can be convenient, but that isn’t the only component consumers want. Taste has the biggest impact on food and beverage purchasing decisions — followed by price and an item’s health factor.¹⁷

With a growing need for easy-to-obtain breakfast options that contain some healthful aspects, operators may benefit from offering a menu composed of hearty, satisfying, transportable dishes like Gilgeori Toast — also known as Korean Street Toast — an egg sandwich that can include cabbage, ham and a sugar-topped brioche bun — or one of the following protein-packed breakfast recipes.18

Breakfast Poutine Biscuit

This savory start-of-the-day dish pairs a Hatfield® breakfast sausage patty and applewood bacon with sweet-potato fries, egg and cheese curds.

Breakfast Bao Flight

Diners looking for a variety of flavors can sample different tastes — avocado and applewood bacon, plus egg, cheese and sausage — with this dual breakfast dish.

Jian Bing

This Chinese crepe, featuring scallions, garlic chili sauce and Hatfield® classic ham tucked in wonton wrappers, is an ideal choice for eating on the go.

Breakfast Korean Corn Dogs

Made with a Hatfield® all-natural skinless sausage link, pancake batter and potatoes, the maple-chipotle glaze and sweet chili sauce drizzled on top gives this dish a unique flavor profile.

Breakfast Empanadas

Much like the traditional version served later in the day, these empanadas are packed with appetizing ingredients — ranging from tomatillos to roasted corn.

Visit https://clemensfoodservice.com/products/hatfield/ to learn more about current breakfast menu trends.

[SOURCES]

1. Expectations for Away-From-Home Breakfast in 2024, Technomic, 2024
2. Top Food Trends 2024, Innova Market Insights, April 15, 2024
3. Generational Preferences: Unveiling Global Flavor Trends: Restaurant Edition, SupHerb Farms, April 2024
4. The World of Breakfast, Datassential, February 2024
5. “This Georgetown Pop-Up Is Serving Epic Breakfast Burritos,” Washingtonian, April 19, 2024
6. “Survey Finds 49% of Americans Resolve to Eat More Protein in 2024,” 1440 Foods, March 4, 2024
7. “Are Eggs as Good a Source of Protein as Beef Steak?,” Gaspari Nutrition, June 21, 2021
8. 2024 Food Trends Report, Datassential, November 15, 2023
9. “1 in 4 Companies Plan to Increase Required Days In-Office in 2025, Despite Majority Losing Talent Due to RTO Policy,” ResumeBuilder.com, May 29, 2024
10. “Dunkin’ Heats Up the Fast-Food Breakfast Wars, Gen Z Leads the Way,” CivicScience, April 4, 2023
11. “McDonald’s® USA and Krispy Kreme® Announce Expanded National Partnership,” McDonald’s, March 26, 2024
12. “Burger King Is Testing a New Breakfast Sandwich,” Today, November 22, 2023
13. “McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell and More Restaurants Start to Get Bullish on Breakfast Again,” Nation’s Restaurant News, February 26, 2024
14. “Breakfast Continues to Drive Wendy's Sales,” Restaurant Business, August 1, 2024
15. “Start Your Day Strong With Wendy's New $3 English Muffin Deal,” Wendy’s, May 20, 2024
16. “Frosty Cream Cold Brew Is Here to Save Drive-Thru Coffee,” Wendy’s, July 14, 2023
17. 2024 IFIC Food & Health Survey, International Food Information Council, 2024
18. “Gilgeori Toast (Korean Street Toast With Cabbage and Egg),”  New York Times, 2020