Changing trends in breakfast menu
Changing trends in breakfast menu

India is no longer associated with ‘dahi-parantha’ for breakfast anymore. The breakfast culture has taken a drastic turn. The major part of India’s population i.e., 65% includes only youth and this generation has played great in changing the breakfast segment. Some of them are health freaks, some are tech savvy or some just want to save their time. They are the ones travel a lot, exposed to the world and lifestyle, and spend quite a larger amount of their money over food industry; increasing the growth index of hospitality sector. Over the past few years, India has witnessed the expansion of restaurants, clubs, bars and quick service restaurant chains. The recent report by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) says that the size of the Indian food services industry is estimated to reach INR 408,040 crore by 2018.

Reasons to the evolution

According to a survey by Franchise India, 34% of the people eat out two to three times a week, while 27% eat once a week, about 11% eat three or more times a week, 12% eat once a month, 3% eat on special occasions, while 12% love to eat daily at a restaurant, speaks volume in itself. So how would breakfast remain untouched? “A couple of noticeable changes can be recorded when speaking of changing trends in breakfast menus. To name a few - organic and all natural ingredients have taken a forefront. Burritos have become wraps, cupcakes have become chia puddings and classic recipes like poha & upma are being prepped with new proteins like quinoa, lentils and mixed beans,” says Hitesh Keswani - Director Silver Beach Entertainment & Hospitality Private Ltd. Also the increment in per capita income of Indians allows them to spend higher amount.

Choose healthy over oily

People today are more health conscious; they do exercise, go to gym, and eat healthy. The one of the biggest fears today is putting on weight; therefore they really count their calorie intake as in replacing calorie with fibre which is also one of the reasons for change in breakfast segment. “Consumers are now moving from cold breakfasts like sugar filled cereals to warm steel cut oats with honey & fresh fruits. Traditional pancakes are now prepped with buckwheat; Florentines are being served gluten free while omelettes are now made with a 'smart eggs' option instead of one with all yolks. Avocado is the biggest winner of all - avocado on toast, avocado smoothie, avocado in eggs/sandwiches & avocado bowls; this is one food that’s all over! All in all, while guests still enjoy traditional dishes they have gotten smarter about what they eat. Simple natural foods are taking over packaged ones while sugar based milkshakes are being replaced by all fresh power smoothies. Guests are also readily accepting ingredients and dishes from across the border, which is great,” adds Keswani.

The Tech Savvy Gen

Technology has made things much easier; you can have mostly anything with one touch. This led consumers to grab their meal and get going just to save time and they are even comfortable with it. The major bulk of consumption of breakfast cereals happens in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities because of the long working hours and the increased share of working women, which is pushing them to look for faster arrangements for breakfast. Many restaurants like Mc Donalds, IHOP, et cetra have also introduced breakfast meals for their target audience. Some of them even run breakfast meal all day.

Hectic Lifestyle

The hustle bustle of life led the family members to have breakfast separately. There are clashes between timings and of course different choices as well which made a way for breakfast market to India. So people prefer to have breakfast on the way and by their choice; be it school, college or office and that is how the breakfast is trending. 

 
Stay on top – Get the daily news from Indian Retailer in your inbox
Also Worth Reading