“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper”
Kickstart your great day with a wholesome breakfast! Consumers are looking for new and more convenient ways to achieve healthy lifestyles, starting with breakfast options itself. According to Allied Market Research, the global breakfast cereals market size is projected to reach $180.3billion by 2030, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.1% from 2021 to 2030.
Consumers these days are more selective towards food choices. Mintel’s consumer market research report revealed that innovation in the breakfast cereal fixture is necessary and should consider the below key features:
- Reduced sugar content
- Vitamin or mineral-fortified with functional claims
- Convenience
- Value-for-money
- Indulgent flavours to fix food cravings
- Sustainability
Reduced sugar content
Brands are reducing sugar content in their recipes to address consumers’ health concerns, especially in the Asia Pacific region. As much as 74% of consumers from India mentioned that high amounts of sugar in cold breakfast cereals is concerning. In some countries such as China and Singapore, the awareness among consumers on high sugar content in food and drinks is being amplified by governmental intervention as well.
Brands will need to make a wise decision on the selection of ingredients in order to prioritise low sugar content without compromising on taste, in their product launches to retain health-conscious cereal buyers.
Example of latest product launch:
San Jiang Pure Buckwheat Flakes – made with 100% tartary buckwheat from Daliang Mountains, with zero sugar and fat
Vitamin or mineral-fortified with functional claims
The global share of cold cereal launches with vitamin or mineral-fortified claims has seen a sharp rise. 35% of consumers in the United States claimed that added vitamins or minerals are an important indicator of healthier cereal. Indeed, eating fortified food products is a relatively easy way of healthy living.
Breakfast cereals often benefit from a positive health reputation thanks to their inherent fibre content. More than 50% of consumers in China recognize the importance of dietary fibre intake but most of them don’t know how to achieve the daily requirements. This creates a great opportunity for cereal brands to further enhance their health appeal by adding fortified nutrients and leveraging the claims to other functional health benefits as shown in the product launches below:
- Sweet Dreams Honey Moonglow Breakfast Cereal – a ready-to-eat cereal specially designed to support a good sleep routine by encouraging natural melatonin production with zinc, folic acid and B vitamins
- Nissin Cisco Gorogura Salty Lemon Granola – a crunchy granola flavoured with salt and lemons to help prevent heatstroke
- Artesano Cheer Up Chocolate Granola – a granola which contains chocolate to support serotonin production to combat stress and bad temper
Convenience
Morning is a super rush hour for everyone, regardless of age. Kids are rushing to go to school while adults are rushing to work. Time-pressed consumers are likely to appreciate quick, on-the-go breakfast options as compared to those that require long cooking and dishwashing after that.
Example of latest product launch:
Wholey Very Berry Easy Porridge – a creamy porridge packed with gluten-free wholegrain oat flakes, fibres and fruit, ready to serve in just 4 minutes
Value-for-money
The rising cost of living has constrained consumers’ spending and impacted decision-making at the point-of-sale. This is applicable to breakfast cereals as well, whereby, 56% of Irish consumers said that the cost-of-living crisis has caused them to switch to cheaper breakfast options. In view of such challenge, brands need to demonstrate other value-for-money attributes to stand out. One of the possible ways is to link the association between satiety and value for money.
Example of latest product launch:
Shine Oat, Raspberry and Banana Super Breakfast Cereal – enriched with multigrain to provide an excellent source of energy and minerals for long-lasting satiety
Indulgent flavours to fix food cravings
Despite value-conscious, consumers also crave the moments of pleasure that food can bring as a respite from the mental burdens in daily lives. 46% of consumers in the United Kingdom said that eating an indulgent breakfast cereal is a good way to satisfy sweet cravings. Brands should recognise the opportunity that breakfast cereals can be positioned as pleasurable products to help consumers embrace the feel-good moments in life. Meanwhile, fruit flavours are gaining traction among launches of breakfast cereals with many recipes based on granola and muesli styles.
Example of latest product launch:
All About Health The Loony Fruity’s Granola – free from added sugar, but the natural sweetness is obtained from the blend of berries used in this granola
Sustainability
Breakfast cereal launches featuring environmentally-friendly packaging claims have shown notable growth, with a strong focus on recycling claims.
Example of latest product launch:
Harraways Less Sugar Strawberry Cream Oats – 100% recyclable pack with compostable sachets
*Note: Some of the contents above are extracted from Mintel GNPD.
