When looking for ways to bring in more revenue for your restaurant, it might be time to consider the most important meal of the day — breakfast.
The morning hours represent an under-tapped daypart for many restaurants. You’re paying overhead and, in some cases, labor already; why not increase your dollars per square foot per hour by adding another meal to your menu? If you think you’re ready to add breakfast to your offerings, here are some ideas to consider.
Order Easy
Your breakfast program should align with what you’ve learned about the “new normal.” For example, guests will be looking for a simple, easy way to place their orders, including online ordering and QR code menus. An integrated POS system will help streamline this process as guests order online and in person. Digitizing the ordering process also reduces the labor needed to implement breakfast service.
To-Go is the Way to Go
Consumers are looking for quick, grab-able options for their commute, so offering curbside pick-up, drive-thru, or grab-and-go options will be the smartest play in this category. Most off-premise breakfast consumers are patronizing fast food establishments, so look to the breakfast menus of fast food restaurants as a jumping off point for the kind of food that’s trending in this category right now. Use the research those big businesses have already done to give your menu an advantage.
Health & Comfort
Gen-Z and millennials are the groups that are increasing their breakfast spend, and their values are split right down the middle between healthy foods and comfort foods, so it would be wise to strike a balance between the two categories within your menu — offering some fare that emphasizes clean, wholesome food as well as dishes that are more indulgent.
Loyalty Rules
Though breakfast is a relatively small category compared to other meals, according to a study by Mintel, the 34% of consumers who are current foodservice breakfast patrons are seemingly habitual and dedicated, and one thing the pandemic has continued to show us is that consumers respond well to loyalty programs. The 2020 Bond Loyalty Report found that 78% of customers are more likely to continue spending with businesses that have a customer loyalty program. For this reason, offering loyalty rewards around your breakfast service is a smart idea.
Your loyalty program should be simple and flexible, giving consumers the choice of how they would like to use their rewards. Try to eliminate any arbitrary rules and restrictions and offer some personalization, like a free breakfast item for customers’ birthdays. Also, by saving and analyzing the data from your loyalty program, you can better identify which menu items are working well and which ones you can eliminate, making your breakfast program tailored to the needs of your customers.
