Park Ridge, IL — Move over bacon and make some room. The egg is the latest star to top menu items from curries to burgers, pizzas, salads and even soups. Foodservice operators in every channel have latched onto the trend, from food trucks to QSRs and mid-scale dining establishments.
The concept of offering an egg as an optional menu topper emerged as an offshoot of the all-day breakfast trend. While a growing number of chains have embraced all-day breakfast overall, according to Datassential’s 2016 Keynote Report on breakfast, only a quarter of operators offer breakfast beyond lunch. Using eggs as an add-on allows operators to capitalize on the breakfast trend with an economical protein that helps increase check totals and contributes to positive profit margins. Here’s a closer look:
Market Insight: Protein Power
The protein power of eggs is one factor feeding this trend. Consumer interest in foods with higher protein content is helping to drive menu innovation. Technomic found that 75 percent of people perceive foods high in protein as being healthier, and 39 percent are willing to pay extra for it. Eggs not only supercharge the protein quotient of any dish, they’re an economical protein choice and common to every restaurant inventory.
Operator Insight: Satisfy the Craving
Half of consumers surveyed (49%) in 2016 by Datassential said their reason for choosing breakfast foods during other dayparts was to satisfy a craving for a specific food, such as eggs. Operators are capitalizing on that craving by crowning salads, poutines and sandwiches to increase their craveability. This expands their use into daypart-blurring menu items that appear as an appetizer, at lunch, happy hour and dinner.
“We witnessed the progression of using eggs atop dinner items as it moved from fine dining, the first segment to latch onto this trend, to midscale, fast casual and QSRs. Food trucks of course can be relied upon for edgy experimentation and bursts of creativity. Now operators of all types are enjoying the value derived from offering an egg as a menu topper—and consumers are getting what they crave the most, an added protein of a delicious, familiar variety,“ said John Howeth, senior vice president, Foodservice & Egg Product Marketing – American Egg Board.
To read the complete “Put an egg on it” analysis within the Incredible Breakfast Trends, go to http://www.aeb.org/news-trends/incredible-breakfast-trends
About the American Egg Board (AEB)
Through AEB, U.S. egg producers come together, in accordance with statutory authority, to establish, finance and execute coordinated programs, on research, education and promotion—all geared to drive demand for eggs and egg products. AEB and all program activities are funded by U.S. egg producers, subject to USDA approval. Visit www.aeb.org for more information.
Source: American Egg Board (AEB)
