Taking It Away, All Day: How Breakfast and Lunch Are Blurring
March 2025
Rigid meal schedules are a thing of the past. Research shows that people are eating on their own time, whether it’s an on-the-go breakfast, a late-morning brunch or a quick lunch in the car. Find out how to meet this trend of blurred mealtimes with versatile products and flexible menus.
Breakfast Whenever
Breakfast, now a $77 billion market, is booming, but more diners want it outside the traditional hours. All-day breakfast is growing in popularity, with 67% of operators who offer it reporting increased sales. Weekend brunch diners will appreciate extended hours, especially when they lead seamlessly into happy hour. Fortunately for operators, merging these dining occasions means happy diners are staying longer and running up higher checks for the business.
Lunch Wherever
With more consumers working from home at least part of the week, restaurants are seeing a greater demand for off-premise offerings at breakfast and lunch. Lunch sales have increased by 7.4% in three years, with a greater demand for convenient meals. Remote workers and in-car diners especially are looking for easy grab-and-go items. Operators can meet this demand with efficient takeout and delivery systems like high-quality packaging and app-based ordering capabilities. And for frugal consumers, meal bundles and value-driven lunch promotions will be added incentives.
Versatility Always
Appealing to the widest range of diners starts with quality products that can be used in dishes throughout the day to create both craveable and nutritious menu options. Choosing versatile ingredients will help maximize creativity and streamline operations. Butterball offers a wide range of turkey products for the greatest recipe flexibility with delicious flavor guests want.
By extending breakfast and brunch menu hours and offering easy takeout options, you can make sure your operation stays top of mind for patrons keeping nontraditional dining schedules. What kind of shifts would you make to drive these visits? Let us know on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
Source:
Daypart Dynamics–Technomic, 2025
