Breakfast Battles - The War For Your Breakfast
Fast-food chains have long wanted to eat McDonald's lunch. Now they're gunning for its breakfast too.
After decades of overexpansion, the $200 billion U.S. fast-food market is in a slump. Sales have been almost flat for the past three years and future prospects look equally bleak. But there's a silver lining: The fast-food breakfast market is growing at nearly three times the rate of the overall market. Sales for that segment hit $30.6 billion for 2005, a 22% increase from $25 billion for 2001.
Those numbers look pretty tasty to food retailers, and the prospects for getting more Americans to eat out at the beginning of the day look even better. Only 7% of Americans now eat breakfast on the go, and a mere 2% of those meals come from fast-food restaurants. Most people, about 75%, still eat their first meal of the day at home.
Until now, McDonald's (nyse: MCD) has dominated the fast-food breakfast market with its famous Egg McMuffin. Breakfast foods generate about $4.75 billion, or 25%, of its $19 billion in sales.
But a long list of chains hope to change that. Carl's Jr. (nyse: CKR), Papa John's Pizza (nasdaq: PZZA), Pernod Ricard's Dunkin' Donuts and Chick-fil-A are all rolling out new breakfast products. Most are taking a page from McDonald's, dishing up some variation on the egg sandwich. These include cheese or meat and come inside a biscuit, an English muffin or a croissant.
External Source - For the complete article click here
Source - Forbes
Those numbers look pretty tasty to food retailers, and the prospects for getting more Americans to eat out at the beginning of the day look even better. Only 7% of Americans now eat breakfast on the go, and a mere 2% of those meals come from fast-food restaurants. Most people, about 75%, still eat their first meal of the day at home.
Until now, McDonald's (nyse: MCD) has dominated the fast-food breakfast market with its famous Egg McMuffin. Breakfast foods generate about $4.75 billion, or 25%, of its $19 billion in sales.
But a long list of chains hope to change that. Carl's Jr. (nyse: CKR), Papa John's Pizza (nasdaq: PZZA), Pernod Ricard's Dunkin' Donuts and Chick-fil-A are all rolling out new breakfast products. Most are taking a page from McDonald's, dishing up some variation on the egg sandwich. These include cheese or meat and come inside a biscuit, an English muffin or a croissant.
External Source - For the complete article click here
Source - Forbes
