Sales of breakfast meats grew nearly 10 percent in 2011, while sweet breakfast breads and pastries gained more than 5 percent. The categories, category, account for about 80 percent of the breakfast food market.
When McDonald’s reported better than expected November revenue, the chain credited strong sales of its breakfast foods — which now account for a fifth of its business.
More than half of consumers say they eat breakfast foods for dinner, while 40 percent say they eat them for dessert, according to Mintel.
Other survey facts:
• Consumers are drinking 3 percent fewer gallons of milk last year than in 2010 and 30 percent less than they did in 1975.
• Restaurants featuring menu items containing turkey bacon, a leaner variation on the original, more than tripled between 2009 and 2012, Mintel found.
• Real bacon, fat and all, remains the top breakfast choice, with menu dishes featuring the ingredient increasing more than 19 percent over the same time period. Bacon sales are up at natural supermarkets too, where they rose 62 percent between 2009 and 2011.