Breakfast -- the new healthy amenity

By Marni Andrews

“The Art of Breakfast” is the name of one of the Omni Chicago's most important meals of the day. It features cage-free eggs; organic, shade-grown Starbucks coffee; and all-natural, antibiotic-free, nitrate-free pork. Welcome to one version of the New Breakfast in the ongoing war to win and keep hotel customers.

Promoting breakfast, and especially a wholesome breakfast, as an amenity is the next step after the Bed Wars, claims Joe McInerney, president of the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Hilton started a program last year to label breakfast buffet and menu items at its North American hotels with colour-coded labels indicating low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie, high fibre, high energy and “indulgence” choices.

Starwood eliminated trans fats at its 400-plus N o r t h American and Caribbean hotels last year. Marriott, Loews, Hampton, Red Lion and Carlson (owner of Radisson) did the same at all or most of its hotels, depending on the brand.

Wyndham, Radisson and Loews have revamped breakfast menus to include healthier choices. For example, Wyndham's “Fields and Sun” breakfasts include a cereal and yogurt bar, fresh fruit and fat-free muffins, while Radisson's “Tasteful Choices” menu incorporates low-calorie, lowfat and low-carbohydrate items as well as fresh, high-quality ingredients. Loews' new breakfast efforts include tofu omelets, turkey-based breakfast meats and vegetarian frittatas.

Hyatt has introduced a StayFit room service menu that emphasizes fresh, locally-grown ingredients.

The Fairmont Chicago spent $200,000 to put Nespresso Essenza C100 espresso/coffee machines into its 687 guest rooms to provide a more memorable morning experience.

All of these changes were driven by customer demand. Hotels have realized that they are competing with local restaurants. And with consumers reading nutrition labels more and more, they have become more concerned about what is going into their mouths, whether at home or at a hotel restaurant. Seventy-six per cent of adults want to eat more healthfully in restaurants, according to a recent National Restaurant Association consumer survey.

“There remains a lot of opportunity in breakfast. You see everyone expanding their breakfast offerings. The introduction of breakfast sandwiches in the Quick-Serve sector and the launch of gourmet coffees at these chains is a really good indicator of what's happening,” says Teresa Weller, culinary solutions advisor for Gordon Food Service (GFS), which offers hundreds of breakfast products to the industry.

“We've seen a huge increase in the development of products for the continental breakfast market geared toward the lodging sector. Limited traditional kitchen facilities and skilled labour are driving the need for easy to prepare and serve items that are economically feasible, good tasting and food safe.”

Markon offers a preservative-free, fresh-cut fruit salad for continental breakfast buffets, while Sara Lee has launched two continental breakfast variety packs, each with three to four varieties of demi-danish, cinnamon rolls, mini muffins, crumb cakes and sweet rolls. Give & Go also has a wide selection of mini breakfast pastries, muffins and scones that fit this segment, according to Weller.

The statistical story

According to the CREST report as reported by the Canadian Restaurant Foodservice Association (CRFA) in Foodservice Facts 2008, breakfast and morning snacks now account for 25 per cent of daypart restaurant traffic. In addition, roughly seven in 10 breakfast/morning snacks purchased from restaurants are now eaten off premise as consumers attempt to balance busy work and home lives.

The top five breakfast/morning snack menu items according to the CREST report are hot coffee (66 per cent), breakfast sandwiches (15 per cent), bagels (13 per cent), eggs (11 per cent), and bacon/sausage (10 per cent). The fastest growing item is breakfast sandwiches.

New research from Technomic foodservice consultants is in agreement. Sandwiches, once viewed as strictly luncheon fare, are now important to all dayparts, says the study, with the portability of breakfast sandwiches helping to boost breakfast sales.

“Sandwiches are growing in share in all dayparts while consumers are asking for more variety in sandwich selections,” says Darren Tristano, executive vice-president of Technomic Information Services.

“Breakfast accounts for about 25 per cent of eating occasions and is growing steadily,” agrees Victor Tomasone, brand manager foodservice, Gay Lea Foods Cooperative Limited, which offers milk, cream, butter and cottage cheese to the foodservice industry. “Nutritious and healthy products are important to breakfast eaters. Easy to use convenience sizes are also factors of consideration.”

According to the “Culinary Flavor Trend Newsletter” from ConAgra Foods, the current U.S. domestic breakfast market is worth $65 billion and this is expected to increase to $83 billion in eight years. Southwestern and/or spicy flavours are identified as a “sweeping trend” as is “premiumization” of breads (e.g., croissants, sourdough, ciabatta, etc.). The newsletter also points out that menu claims (e.g., vegetarian/vegan, fresh, low fat, seasonal, homemade, low carb, etc.) have become an ever more important part of selling a menu item. The leading general claim on breakfast menus was “vegetarian/vegan” by a factor of four times over the next most popular: “fresh.”

Barbara MacDonald, president, Brand Culture Marketing, represents Lamb Weston, a ConAgra brand that provides a full range of breakfast potato products to the industry. She comments that lodging operators tend to make two mistakes in the breakfast category: not extending the breakfast hours and not having a signature dish.

“Given jet lag and the travel schedules of guests and meeting attendees, breakfast hours are often not long enough. Some establishments extend the hours on the weekend, but why not weekdays as well? When guests are ready for breakfast, they want breakfast and don't want to have their appetite pushed along into a lunch menu,” she comments.

“And very few operators have a signature breakfast offering. They strive to have signature meal entrees and even beverages, but why not breakfast? Given the good profit margins on breakfast menus, operators should be looking to this daypart for improved traffic and profitability,” she recommends.

Denise Works is manager of food and beverage operations, Delta Hotels, with 42 locations throughout Canada. She says that Delta recognizes that breakfast is a “timesensitive meal period” and therefore all the hotels now have complimentary coffee and tea available on a cart in the lobby prior to the opening of their breakfast outlets. She says that best sellers for breakfast are the “healthy choice” options. Through research that Delta is doing, they note that guests are now asking for availability of breakfast items such as cottage cheese, hard-boiled eggs, a variety of healthy breads, smoothies and herbal teas as a reflection of healthier eating.

Travelodge Canada introduced a new standardized breakfast on June 1. The new breakfast bar is free for all guests and is available at locations that do not have an on-site restaurant that serves breakfast, according to Susan Gilliland, director of marketing, Travelodge Canada. The breakfast bar will be staffed with a full-time attendant so that it remains clean, tidy, well stocked and fresh. The bar offers fresh fruit, juice, breads, cereal, hard-boiled eggs, oatmeal, and yogurt.

“Breakfast is an important part of the value proposition for guests today,” says Gilliland. “We're introducing a ‘grab & go' option that will allow busy travellers to pack their breakfast and take it back to their room or with them when they leave the hotel.”

Weller of GFS agrees.

“If your facilities allow and your chef is willing, there is a segment of your business clientele who would be willing to purchase a ‘brown bag' lunch on their way out in the morning. Consider adding this to your room service menu or sell it through the weekday breakfast dining room,” she says.

Peameal bacon, potatoes, waffles

Peter Daly, director of sales, The Elite Meat Company, notes that Elite peameal bacon is his company's bestselling breakfast item. Because the pump (water-based seasonings and pickling process) is “the lowest of all federal plants in Canada,” the product delivers the lowest fat and sodium and the highest protein of peameal bacons on the market. This proportion also has the lowest shrink after cooking, which means less waste.

The largest producer of peameal bacon by volume in Canada is TMF Foods. President Andrew Thomson says that peameal is very popular in Ontario because of its versatility. And with only four per cent fat, it's a much healthier option to regular bacon. Another substitute to regular bacon is smoked brisket, according to Thomson.

“It's an original product with a Texas taste that livens up a somewhat predictable breakfast,” he explains.

In terms of enhancing profit margin, Jeffrey Thornhill, regional sales manager with Basic American Foods, suggests using potatoes more. Since they are already one of the lowest cost items on the breakfast menu, finding more creative ways to use potatoes makes sense. Thornhill says that BAF's dry and refrigerated potato products deliver taste and convenience while offering easy prep and labour savings by eliminating the need to peel, shred, slice or dice. BAF's dry hash browns, for example, cook up to three times faster than a frozen equivalent.

International flavours are more popular than ever in Canadian cooking. Thornhill suggests recipes such as Mediterranean Frittata or a Flamin' Acadian Skillet (with Andouille sausage) as ways to use this trend in potato dishes. As well, putting a twist on a more standard dish can be a way to encourage customers to order a breakfast choice that they wouldn't make for themselves at home.

In the mind of Tom Kanaridis, director of sales for Heartland Food Products, which sells waffle and pancake mixes, breakfast has made “a huge comeback.” Though people are more health conscious now than perhaps ever, traditional items such as pancakes and waffles are still a huge part of the breakfast meal period, according to Kanaridis.

“Our most popular product for limited service hotels is the ‘add water' waffle mix. For full service kitchens, the most popular is the egg and butter waffle mix,” he says. “Both items do really well because they cost approximately $0.37 per waffle and give tremendous value for the money.”

Kevin Maven, director of franchise operations, Choice Hotels Canada, with more than 270 locations under seven brands, says that more than 50 per cent of the properties offer complimentary breakfast. The signature, and most popular, dish for Comfort hotels is the waffle. Choice recently introduced Carbon's Golden Malted Pancake & Waffle Flour and several hotels are using it.

“Guests get to cook their own fresh waffle right there on the spot with commercial waffle baking equipment,” says Maven.

Participating Comfort and Comfort Suites offer a free breakfast under the Comfort Sunshine Breakfast program, says Maven. The hotels have the flexibility to add food options but the core items include fresh, hardboiled eggs or cheese cubes, fresh fruit, cereal, pastries and non-sweet breads.

Embassy Suites Hotels claims to be the only hotel brand to offer its guests a complimentary, cooked-toorder omelet every morning; that's 9,000 omelets every day! Ten standard ingredients are offered.

The Grand Hotel & Suites in downtown Toronto offers both a breakfast buffet and an a la carte breakfast to guests, according to food & beverage manager Udo Springmann. While he says the clear best seller is the Grand Breakfast Buffet, he has noticed growth in those looking for healthy choices for breakfast.

Fifty Two 80 Bistro at Four Seasons Resort Whistler in BC offers both a full breakfast buffet with made-toorder omelet station and an a la carte menu for breakfast, says Samantha Geer, director, public relations, Four Seasons Resort Whistler and Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver. There is an “incredible array of wellness items” on the a la carte menu, says Geer. The wellness items, priced from $16 to $24 are the best sellers for breakfast. They are not “low fat” but rather healthy/local items. Real fruit smoothies are an especially big hit.

“Breakfast is generally the busiest meal period. Guests do not reserve and upon arrival they expect their meals to be quickly served and fresh. Service is the key to handle the influx of both arrivals and orders,” explains Geer.