Fast-paced life, eating on the go, new offers, “all-day breakfast,” and affordable prices for breakfast combos are all factors that contribute to out-of-home (OOH) breakfast as an important opportunity for retail foodservice operators and bakery manufacturers. OOH breakfast habits vary widely in 13 global foodservice markets, according to new research from The NPD Group, released at Sirha 2019 in Lyon, France.

OOH breakfast visits grew in 9 out of 13 countries tracked last year, even as total foodservice orders were flat or overall less dynamic. OOH breakfast visits grew a whopping 8% in France in the year ending September 2018, compared to the previous year. And they’re growing in Europe, Russia, Canada, Australia, and the United States.

Breakfast sandwiches/muffins was the No. 1 item ordered for OOH breakfast, with a few exceptions. Brazilians like to order toasted French bread for breakfast, while the French are partial to croissants.

The most popular item per country:

  • United States: breakfast sandwiches/muffins
  • China: stuffed buns 
  • Japan: sweet bread or donut
  • Brazil: toasted French bread

Customers prefer sandwich/bakery or coffee shop segments for their breakfast, according to NPD, but not always.

Key segment for breakfast visits (share of visits based on 100% breakfast visits):

  • Italy — Coffee shops 83%
  • Spain — Coffee shops 60%
  • Canada — QSR Donut 54%
  • China — QSR Chinese 40%
  • Japan — Supermarkets 40%
  • Russia, Australia, USA — QSR burger 33%
  • France & Germany — QSR sandwich/bakery 37%