Over 8 in 10 (83%) adults claim to have breakfast during the week, dropping marginally from levels recorded last year (86%). There has also been a drop in the proportion of adults who claim to have breakfast at the weekend (88%), down from 91% in 2017. This research, conducted on behalf of Retail Intelligence by Empathy Research, amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 18+, sought to understand our behaviour at breakfast time.
Those least likely to have breakfast during the week are aged 35-44, where almost 3 in 10 (29%) of this age group claim they do not eat breakfast, increasing from 25% in 2017. Highest levels of breakfast consumption is evident amongst those aged 65+, where breakfast is almost universally consumed (97%), unchanged from 2017 levels. When it comes to weekend breakfast consumption, the 25-34 age group are still least likely to consume, with almost 1 in 5 (17%) in this age group claiming not to eat breakfast at the weekend.
Tea/Coffee and toast (43%) is most likely to be eaten as part of the weekday breakfast, unchanged from 2017 levels. There has been an increase in porridge consumption year-on-year, rising from 37% to 40% this year. Cereal consumption is largely unchanged (37% from 39%) year-on-year. Just over 1 in 5 (22%) are having eggs for their weekday breakfast, with 19% having fruit and 9% having fruit combined with yoghurt, while 8% eat yoghurt by itself.
Almost 6 in 10 (57%) adults who currently don’t eat cereals for their weekday breakfast claim to have eaten cereals in the past. Some 3 in 10 (30%) of these have stopped their consumption in the past year, with just over a third (35%) stopping consumption in the past 2-3 years.
For further information and more in-depth analysis on consumer behaviour at breakfast time, please contact Robbie Clarke at Empathy Research.
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