Millennials are In partnership with EnsembleIQ, publisher of Convenience Store News Canada, my market research firm Abacus Data conducted a national survey in the summer of 2018 to explore how Millennials feel about breakfast and the opportunities that exist for the c-store category with the Millennial Generation.
In fact, only 42% of Millennials say they always make time to eat breakfast, 18 points less likely than older generations. But it’s not because they don’t want to eat breakfast, it’s just they feel a time crunch and sometimes skip the meal if finding breakfast isn’t easy or convenient.
Millennials are consumers born between 1980 and 2000. With a population of about 9.5 million across Canada, there are more Millennials in Canada than any other generation. Over 1.25 million of them will form their own households in the next five years. As consumers, they seek convenience, high-quality, and increasingly healthy options in the food they eat. They are the most sought-after market for retailers and foodservice operators alike and their preferences will shape the market for years to come.
When they do eat breakfast, 76% of meals are made at home, 15% of breakfast meals involve eating something that is pre-made or packaged while 9% of meals are consumed at a restaurant or from a retailer.
Here’s what our national survey found: At this stage in their life, Millennials are less likely to eat breakfast than older generations but when they eat breakfast, they are more likely to do so outside their home. In a typical week, the average Millennial will eat breakfast 4.7 days a week compared with 5.3 days for older Canadians.
Given this, it’s not surprising that they are more likely to visit retailers or restaurants for those out-of-home breakfasts with grocery stores, quick service restaurants, c-stores, and sit-down restaurants being the most popular stops. Most importantly, Millennials are five times as likely to get breakfast at a convenience store at least once per week than older generations (15% vs. 3%). That’s about 1.4 million Millennials visiting a c-store for breakfast at least once a week – and many visit more than once per week.
42
of Millennials always make time for breakfast
60%
of older generations always make time for breakfast
more likely to get a breakfast at a convenience store than older generations. That’s about
1.4 million
Millennials visiting convenience stores for breakfast at least once a week, with many more going more than once a week. Source: Abacus Data
More Millennial breakfasts are eaten outside the home than those consumed by older generations (24% vs. 15%).
%
5x
Slightly more than a quarter (27%) of Millennials are open to eating breakfast at a c-store but only do so once a month or less. That is approximately 2.5 million more Millennials open to getting their breakfast at C-store but have not found a reason to go more regularly. C-stores are tied for third on Millennials’ menu of breakfast establishments, after grocery stores, quick serve restaurants like McDonald’s, Tim Hortons or Starbucks, and tied with sit-down restaurants. Compared to grocery stores and sitdown restaurants, c-stores offer greater convenience and can often compete with quick serve restaurants with convenience and price and could represent an equal alternative. C-stores offer a lot to Millennial consumers and can leverage those positive qualities to capture a wider share of the Millennial breakfast market.
Millennials eat breakfast
4.7
times a week compared to older generations who eat breakfast
5.3 times a week
24% of Millennials breakfasts are eaten outside the home
15%
of older generations eat breakfasts outside the home
Source: Abacus Data
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| September / October 2018
CCentral.ca