From healthy to hearty, by catering for a range of needs, retailers can offer a breakfast to suit every customer and keep them coming back for more.
Nothing sets you up for the day like a decent breakfast. This is true for both consumers and convenience stores.
“Breakfast is important because it’s a big part of what convenience stores do, providing the first meal of the day,” says Imran Ali, who owns Bourtreehill Supermarket in Irvine.
When asked if they could change their breakfast routine, what they would do differently, 21% of respondents said they’d try different breakfasts instead of eating the same thing every day, according to a recent Weetabix poll of more than 2,000 people aged 16+.
The good news is that convenience retailers can do just that with an array of different products to suit every taste. “One of our top selling products in the morning are fresh morning rolls with Lorne sausage and potato scones sourced from local suppliers,” says Imran.
The store has cultivated a partnership with the local butcher, so all the sliced meat comes from there. “We’ve also got our Quinn’s Kitchen food to go offer, so obviously breakfast to go is a big deal for people that are on the move,” says Imran.
The local baker, Kilmarnock-based Brownings The Bakers, also supplies products for the shop’s breakfast offer. “My bakery stuff comes from Brownings,” says Imran, explaining that customers appreciate quality breakfast ingredients. “We never use frozen burgers or frozen slices. Even for the little things like ketchup and sauce, we use Heinz and HP. People know the difference between branded and cheap sauce.
“We get daily orders from the butcher arriving every morning, and that’s just enough to last the day, so we don’t get much wastage, and we keep it as fresh as possible for the customer.”
Being able to tailor breakfast products to consumers’ preferences is what makes Imran’s breakfast-to-go offer irresistible. “There’s a whole range for customers to choose from, from breakfast rolls to full breakfasts, and they can have it the way they want it,” he says. “That’s a point of difference that we can offer, that customers can choose what they want, and we’ll make it the way they want it as well. Whether they want a soft egg, hard egg, crispy bacon – basically we can cater towards everyone’s individual needs.”
The shop’s choice of coffee to go has also been carefully considered to get people’s day off to the right start. “We use a Scottish company called Coffee for Life,” says Imran. “I’ve had a few people tell me that my coffee is the only one they would touch bar Costa, so that gave me confidence in providing a higher-quality product. That way people are happy to pay for it and support you.”
Breakfast bars are another big seller for Imran. “I’ve got a dedicated Kellogg’s stand at the counter for breakfast cereal bars. A lot of people are on the go, so having a stand at the counter really upsells the bars because people maybe skipped breakfast, and they’re on the road or on the way to work or on the way to school, so it’s easy to grab it.”
Imran has also witnessed demand for healthier breakfasts. This correlates with Weetabix’s findings, which revealed that if they were to change their breakfast routine, 21% of respondents would like to prepare a more nutritious breakfast. This figure increases considerably with young people with 28% of Gen Z (16–24-year-olds) and 31% of young millennials (25–34-year-olds) seeking to prepare a more nutritious breakfast. In fact, Scotland was the most likely region (27%) to embrace healthy breakfast trends as a change of routine.
“I’ve noticed in the last year or two that my sales of smaller fruit-to-go pots have increased quite a bit,” says Imran. “People do look for healthier options. I sell watermelon and melon pots and packs of grapes. Watermelon is one of my top-selling small pots now and maybe going back five years, no one would have touched that.”
He adds: “I still make a good margin on healthier lines, I make 28% to 35% on the fruit pots, so that’s well above the average for a c-store.”
So there you have it, providing a variety of lines that incorporate key trends, such as traditional and healthier options, will give your customers plenty of reasons to shop local for breakfast.
Imran set himself a challenge of hosting six Big Breakfasts for local schools. “My target for the end of the year was to have hosted breakfast at every primary school in Irvine,” he explains. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that without the Healthy Living Programme. It was great to engage with the kids and then in return, the kids engage with the parents as well. So when we went down, we’re talking about different breakfast options, and we let kids try different breakfast options that we’ve not tried before. A lot of kids tried honey, banana and wholemeal bread and then days later in the shop, parents came up to me and said that their kids were asking for it at home.”
Children are also offered free fruit, so they can grab a banana on the way to school if they’re hungry. “I’ve changed my chillers in store now too, so fresh products are the first thing you walk in to, and we have a kids’ stand with free fruit at the front as well,” he says.
When generous Imran had boxes of Weetabix left over from one of his Big Breakfast events, he gave them away for free in store, encouraging customers to take the opportunity to try something new. He believes that allowing kids (and adults) to sample new breakfast products can help them to adopt healthier habits and encourage loyalty. “Hopefully they’ll shop local, and it does lead to less anti-social behaviour.”
He ensures that breakfast items are good value for money. “We’ve brought in own-brand wholemeal bread so it’s a cheaper alternative to the branded ones,” he says. “We do a milk deal now as well – two for £3. I’m trying to make sure at least the essential items are affordable so they can mix and match between bread, milk and eggs.”
