Kate Miller takes a look at what’s really setting Brits up for the day
On a US trip for Natural Products magazine in the late 1990s I met a leading organics proponent who spent much of our lunchtime chat telling me that the poor state of Britain’s health was due to our habit of eating a cooked breakfast every day. When I tried to tell her that this really wasn’t the case for most people, she looked at me sideways and said: “Aw come on, everyone knows that’s what you guys do.”
Aside from being slightly perturbed at her insistence that I knew less about habitual behaviour in my own country than someone who had never actually visited it, the conversation did make me ponder just how much had changed in the early morning eating habits back home in Blighty.
While abroad the perception may still exist that we feast on eggs and bacon first thing, but in reality we’re a nation that wants convenience at the start of the day.
According to the most recent YouGov report on Breakfast Habits in the UK, only 51% of UK consumers think it is important to have a good breakfast first thing. However, the majority, 59% reported always eating breakfast during the week, with only 18% saying that they regularly go without. Surprisingly, this latter figure only drops a little (to 15%) at the weekend, indicating that skipping breakfast may be more habitual than simply down to busy lives.
During the week cereal and toast remain the most popular breakfast food (55% and 52% respectively), with consumers citing convenience as the biggest factor.
A healthier start
However, Euromonitor reports that the cereal market continues to be hard hit by ongoing health fears over sugar content, leading to a long-term decline (2% last year alone) in consumption. The only areas to buck this trend are products with strong health messages such as muesli (up in value by 7% in 2015) and premium and value-added granolas. Hot cereal is also seeing growth due to the ongoing appreciation of the health benefits of oats.
Unsurprisingly, mainstream cereal manufacturers are keen to regain the healthy image these once-enjoyed products and are focusing on food intolerance, high protein and healthier variants. At the end of last year Weetabix brought out a protein variant, while Raisio renamed Sugar Puffs as Honey Monster Puffs and launched a reduced-sugar variant in July.
But cereals haven’t been the only breakfast products to suffer due to their questionable ingredients. In December the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned children’s milkshake brand Nesquik from claiming that its hot chocolate was ‘a great way to start the day’. The wording had appeared on Asda’s own-brand milk labels for Nesquik hot chocolate and was challenged by the Children’s Food Campaign which pointed out that a 200ml serving of Nesquik Hot Chocolate contained 20.3g of sugar.
The growing quest for a healthier breakfast offering was one of the reasons that Wessanen revamped its packaging last year. While its peanut butter is sugar-free and only contains three ingredients (with 97% peanuts), the message wasn’t getting through to consumers. “About 80% of peanut butter usage is at breakfast and we see a lot of people trading up to our products because of the absence of sugar in our peanut butter,” says marketing director Gill Green. “However we were quite recessive in how we were talking to the consumer and what we were saying on the packaging.” For the real purists, the company has also brought out a 100% peanut butter which contains no salt and targets the growing protein shake trend.
Breakfast on the hoof
Protein shakes and protein products is yet another branch of growth in convenience breakfast products, which also include snack bars and biscuit bars. Green says that the on-the-go trend in particular is one which the company will be looking at in the future with the quest to find something that could combine peanut butter with a biscuit offering. In the meantime, Wessanen is launching a smaller on-the-go portion pack of its Kallo Fruity Muesli & Yoghurt Breakfast Thins in Q1 2016.
Other companies targeting this market include fruit and nut bar maker Eat Natural which offers a range of Toasted Mueslis and Of the Earth Superfoods which has launched an instant cereal pot combining 50% organic superfoods and 50% organic oats.
Hot Stocks
A natural start
Eat Natural’s Toasted Muesli with Buckwheat is a gluten-free blend of buckwheat and crisped rice with seeds, dried fruit, coconut and cinnamon. Available in 65g sachets or a 500g box, the cereal range also includes Almonds & Apricot, Nuts & Seeds, and Vine Fruit.
Breakfast culture
Stir Drinks’ line of Daily Cultures is the first range of probiotic teas on the UK market. The offer includes Breakfast Tea, Green Tea and Peppermint Tea, with each serving promising over a billion friendly bacteria.
A mammoth taste
The Paleo Food Company’s Granola boasts no grains or refined sugar, instead using nuts, crunchy seeds, berries, coconut chunks and honey in its recipe. The cereal comes in three flavours: Honey & Pecan, Berry & Almond and Cocoa & Hazelnut.
Healthy Breakfast Products
Buddha’s Awakening
Iswari Ireland Ltd
Tel: +353 214773990
E-mail: marketing.ie@iswari.net
www.iswari.net
Iswari is proud to present its Buddha’s Awakening instant breakfast range. Each nutrient rich, raw superfood breakfast combines omega-packed milled Chia & Flax seeds, with ground almonds buckwheat, fruit powders and Superfoods. They are rich in protein, easily digested, gluten-free and 100% organic! Furthermore, each mix can be made in minutes, just by adding hot or cold water. Enlighten your morning with our Classic or Tropical breakfast flavours! Available in 6 flavours: “Chocolate Hit”, “Maca & Vanilla”, “Hempiness”, “Acai/Banana/Strawberry”, “Mango & Baobab”, and “Pineapple & Wheatgrass”. Available at Planet Organic or ask at your local store! www.iswari.net
Top Tier Juices Packed With Nutritional Integrity
Valencia Orange
Coldpress Foods Ltd.
E-mail: ian@purplepilchardteam.com
www.coldpress.co.uk
With the sugar tsunami still raging many of us have forgotten the importance of juice as a rich, daily source of essential vitamins and nutrients. Whilst most juices still practice the ‘dark art’ that is heat-based pasteurisation, Coldpress opts for HPP (High pressure processing). Pasteurisation rides roughshod over any fruit or veg’s delicate ‘top notes,’ essential nutrients, antioxidants and aromas by cooking them off. Coldpress treats top-notch ingredients with kid gloves ring-fencing their great taste & nutritional integrity. Nutritionally-dense juices means less juice (fewer calories/less sugar) needs to be consumed in one’s daily quest for wellness.
Pertwood Farm Organic Yacon Granola
Pertwood Organic Farm
Tel: 01747 820499
E-mail: justyna@alara.co.uk
www.pertwood.co.uk
PERTWOOD FARM ORGANIC YACON GRANOLA – Farm Organic granola with probiotic organic Yacon flakes. We combine the best nutritious ingredients to provide you with ultimate healthy combination of fibre from OATS, BARLEY and BUCKWHEAT wholegrains, Omega-3 rich LINSEEDS, vitamin K and magnesium filled DATES, B vitamins rich COCONUT, protein powerhouses PUMPKIN and SUNFLOWER seeds for some healthy fats. To deal with your appetite we blend it all with probiotic organic Yakon flakes to give you guilt- free sweet from low in GI oligofructose sugar to support your sustainable weight loss management.
Planet Organic Rawkin’nola
Planet Organic
Tel: 0207 2217171
E-mail: wholesale@planetorganic.com
www.planetorganic.com
Tasty RAW granola bites made from sprouted seeds, sprouted buckwheat and superfoods. Enjoy with cold almond milk or coconut yogurt and fresh fruit for a deliciously healthy breakfast. Seeds are great for us, but in their dormant form they can be difficult to digest. Which is why we sprout them, turning sleepy seeds into activated superfoods bursting with easily digested nutrients. We’re talking sprouted buckwheat, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds and chia seeds, packed with wholefood energy and plant protein. Choose your favourite flavour: red berries, living greens, cacao vanilla or purple berries.
ORGANIC * GLUTEN FREE * VEGAN * NO REFINED SUGAR RRP: £7.99 (360g)
9BAR Breakfast Boost Range
Wholebake Limited
Tel: 01978 661275
E-mail: info@wholebake.com
www.9BAR.com
Super Seed your Breakfast Offering with 9BAR! Take the opportunity to super seed your breakfast on the go offering with 9BAR Breakfast Boost! Four nutritious varieties for a healthier breakfast on the go; full of gluten free oats, an array of super seeds including pumpkin, sunflower, sesame and hemp seeds as well as delicious breakfast ingredients such a raisin, apricot and strawberry.
Every Breakfast Boost range offers consumers a source of calcium and protein for a great and positive start to the day. Not only that but the super seeds in every 9BAR help deliver slow release energy in a convenient and tasty format.
Amisa Organic Gluten Free Breakfast Range
Windmill Organics
Tel: 0208 5472775
E-mail: salesdev@windmillorganic.com
Discover the full range of delicious Amisa gluten free breakfast cereals for a wholesome start to the day. From wholegrain porridge oats to agave drizzled puffs and fruity muesli there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Amisa fibre-rich gluten free oats make deliciously creamy porridge, available in original, apple and cinnamon or four grain variety for a blend of oats, millet, amaranth and buckwheat. Top yoghurt with Amisa Fruity Oat Muesli for a twist of tangy cranberries or try NEW Amisa Chia Bircher Muesli, a delicious blend of wholegrain oats, chia seeds, crunchy roasted hazelnuts, almonds, sultanas and fruity apple pieces.
Essential Yeast Extract Range
Essential Trading
Tel: 0845 4580201
E-mail: sales@essential-trading.coop
www.essential-trading.coop
Essential’s vitamin-packed Yeast Extract is a great choice for a healthy breakfast. Suitable for vegans, it’s packed full of protein and valuable B vitamins. It ticks so many important boxes: 100% natural, nutrient dense, vegan, GMO-free. Essential’s Yeast Extract is low in salt (sodium) compared to most yeast extracts, and also gluten free as it is produced from the roots, not the grain, which is a key point of difference for customers who are gluten intolerant. Available in a compact 125g jar or 250g family size, plus an 150g certified-organic option, it has a mellow umami flavour that’s truly delicious.