The breakfast cereals industry
is promoting innovative, health-conscious new products to fend off the threat
of traditional and ‘on-the-go’ breakfast foods, says a new report from leading
global market analysts Euromonitor International.
Traditional breakfasts
still important
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The Spanish, Italian and
French share similar breakfasts of bakery products or biscuits and the habit
of dunking biscuits in coffee or hot chocolate. New biscuit-shaped cereals that
can be dipped in milk are being promoted as an extension to these traditional
breakfasts. Breakfast customs are also important in Japan; over half of Japanese
people eat some kind of Japanese traditional breakfast, although those who are
pressed for time may simply opt for rice and miso soup. Young couples and single
people are the most likely to eat Western-style breakfasts on a daily basis,
leaving Japanese breakfasts for the weekend. British consumers without children
tend to skip breakfast altogether, opting for food on the journey to work purchased
in coffee and sandwich bars, while Americans favour bagels and muffins as ‘fast’
breakfast foods. Germans, thought, still like to spend time over breakfast,
with the average German spending 26 minutes a day at the breakfast table compared
to the French, who spend only 15 minutes.
Preoccupation with healthy-eating
a common strand
The strength of breakfast
cereals lies in their perceived health benefits. High levels of new product
innovation and the promotion of higher-priced health-orientated breakfast cereals
drove both value and volume sales in France, and growth in demand for functional
cereals with added vitamins and iron has been a feature of the German market.
Awareness of dietary deficiencies, particularly among women, underpinned the
strong growth in breakfast cereal sales in Japan over 1994-1998. Increased advertising
expenditure and promotion, focused primarily on Japanese women, emphasised the
nutritional benefits of consumption of cereals and their being a valuable source
of fibre, vitamins and minerals. British consumers have long been aware of breakfast
cereals’ added-value, but in response to eating breakfast on the go, cereals
have been re-positioned as a healthy snack that can be eaten at any time of
the day.
British top cereal munchers,
but Italians develop a taste for new breakfast products
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By GlobalDataThe UK recorded the highest
level of per capita consumption of breakfast cereals in 1998, which amounted
to 6.9kg. This was over 60% more than the level of consumption in the US, the
largest market in absolute volume terms. Italy was the most dynamic market of
the seven reviewed, where per capita consumption was up 97.4% in volume terms.
Around 91% of Italians now claim to eat breakfast regularly, providing a large
potential market for breakfast cereals. However, only 8% of people claimed to
eat cereals regularly, compared to 23% in Europe as a whole.
Average Volume Sales
Of Breakfast Cereals Per Capita By Country 1998
| Kg | |
| France | 1.72 |
| Germany | 2.17 |
| Italy | 0.60 |
| Japan | 0.21 |
| Spain | 0.77 |
| UK | 6.94 |
| US | 4.30 |
Source: Euromonitor International
Euromonitor International
predicts that increased demand for convenient, pre-prepared foods should underpin
demand for breakfast cereals. Product development in ready-to-eat cereals will
focus on low-calorie and fortified products. In order to persuade consumers
that cereals do not have to be eaten purely at breakfast, ready-to-eat cereal
products will be positioned as snacks.
