Virtually everyone eats breakfast, making it a hugely important occasion for local retailers. With more people working from home now, it’s vital to get your range right to meet this increased demand.
Breakfast, the most important meal of the day and one enjoyed by 98% of the population, according to Kantar. That makes it an enormous market for local retailers, whether that’s a breakfast on the go or a traditional box of cereal at home with the family.
It won’t surprise many to learn that the cereal category has enjoyed a strong 2020 in convenience, as many categories did. The category grew 9.1% in convenience [IRI, Dec 2020] as more consumers shopped locally during lockdowns, especially for top-up missions. Among the big winners was Kellogg’s.
“Some 70% of sales came from the top 40 products and Kellogg’s accounts for 39.5% of these, with Crunchy Nut being our biggest brand [IRI, Dec 2020],” says Susann Heinz, Senior Brand Manager for Kellogg’s UKI. “At the height of the pandemic in April, 74% of Kellogg’s cereal growth in convenience came from new shoppers entering the category and Crunchy Nut saw 1.4% penetration growth from convenience alone [Kantar, Aug 2020].
“Symbol stores and independents benefited from a surge in sales of large pack cereals, with most coming from shoppers that were buying cereals in their local store for the first time [Hubbub, Apr 2020].”
To keep that momentum going, Kellogg’s recently launched Crunchy Nut Bites, comprising crunchy cereal pillows filled with a smooth nutty filling, with flavours of hazelnut and honey. Sales of the Crunchy Nut flagship taste brand increased by 26% in 2020 so Heinz’s hopes are high that the new product will find a ready audience – and retailers will see the benefit in the till.
With cereals, it’s always a good idea to make sure that you have the basics right. Heinz recommends that retailers make sure they’re stocking all the recommended best sellers and use NPD to drive incremental sales.
“It’s also a good idea to group similar products together (i.e., chocolate/flavoured, plain, health, muesli and granola etc.) to make it easy for shoppers to find what they’re looking for,” she adds. “Cereals are best located next to categories such as tea, sugar, bread and canned foods, with on-the-go cereals merchandised next to other on-the-go breakfast products like cereal snacks or fresh fruit, or next to a coffee machine. Using the recommended PoS material is another great way to grab shopper attention and grow sales.”
Kellogg’s has also created a website – KelloggsVantage.co.uk – to help retailers maximise sales and get the most out of their cereal fixture. It features a range of advice tailored to store type and size, providing detailed advice on demographics, priority locations, as well as suggested must stocks and merchandising advice, including planograms.
Something special
Last year also saw a marked rise in shoppers treating themselves to something a little special a little more often, quite understandably, and one brand benefitting from that at the breakfast table is Nutella.
Levi Boorer, Customer Development Director at Ferrero UK & Ireland, says: “Breakfast is one of the fastest-growing areas of the food market, with consumers taking a vested interest in not only what they consume and how they prepare their meals, but how the end result looks too. The popularity of the ‘Instagramable’ meal, particularly brunch, is helping to evolve traditional morning meals as consumers look for versatile ingredients – such as Nutella – to add a layer of excitement and visual appeal.
“We’re conscious that for many shoppers, family breakfasts still need to be quick and easy. Convenience is still a priority for many, so ways that shoppers can enhance their first meal of the day without investing a great deal of time are appealing. A key strength of Nutella is its versatility, helping shoppers to transform dishes, adding flavour to breakfast without necessarily investing a great deal of time. Consumers looking for a special breakfast can add a delicious touch of Nutella (one heaped teaspoon, 15g) to make toast, pancakes or porridge even tastier.
“2020 was a challenging year for shoppers, so it’s understandable that in hard times, consumers turn to products that they trust for great quality and taste. Chocolate spread featured in 34% of UK households during 2020, an increase of 5% as shoppers looked for convenient, stress-free breakfast options, that didn’t require huge investments of time [Kantar, Jun 2020]. Nutella is perceived by consumers as number one for brand trust, brand love, great taste and good mood [Kantar, Dec 2020], and its versatility and much-loved flavour make it the ideal breakfast spread to stock throughout the year.
“As the number one brand within the spreads category [Kantar, Feb 2021], Nutella is the go-to brand to enhance a breakfast offering, retaining its relevance all year round.”
With the pandemic having turned shopping behaviours on their head, there are fresh opportunities aplenty at the critical breakfast period. Widely viewed as the most important meal of the day, breakfast accounts for 19.8 billion occasions and is eaten by 98% of the UK [Kantar, Mar 2021].
While many shoppers prefer a traditional bowl of cereal or plate of porridge, many others prefer something hot to kick their day off. Rustlers is capitalising on this by enabling retailers to meet retailer demand for convenient breakfast solutions to offer their shoppers with the Rustlers All Day Breakfast Sausage Muffin, its number one breakfast product in the impulse channel.
Monisha Singh, Shopper Marketing Manager at Kepak Consumer Foods, the home of Rustlers, says: “Since launching in 2018, the Rustlers All Day Breakfast Muffin is already worth £2m within the impulse channel and following its early success, is seeing 21.9% growth YoY across independents [Nielsen, Mar 2021].
“Rustlers All Day Breakfast Muffin meets shopper demand for a quick and convenient hot breakfast solution, making is a must-stock for retailers wanting to build their breakfast offering. It is ideally suited to be part of a breakfast meal alongside a hot drink. Retailers can position themselves as a daily destination for shoppers by delivering meal deal options throughout the day, offering shoppers value for money with more than half choosing a deal because it is a cheaper option [IGD ShopperVista, 2020].”
Rustlers is also helping retailers optimise their breakfast offering with its innovative Cook in Box solution. Rustlers All Day Breakfast Sausage Muffin is available in the innovative format, served with cheese and brown sauce (RSP £2.50), ideal for the breakfast-to-go occasion.
Rustlers Cook in Box allows shoppers to heat the fully assembled product without even opening the pack, eliminating any messy preparation whilst also acting as a product carrier to enable easy consumption on the go.
